Promised Percentages
by Nefer-T
Summary: SPOILER ALERT. EdxWin fluff/stuff/LEMON. Set after the series ending with chapter 108. Wondering if/how Ed will officially propose to Winry? This, I think, is one possibility. Ch.4 - an unforgiving fever strikes, which calls for an M-rated "cure"!
1. Officially Commited

**WARNING**

**Beware eveyone! This has a couple of spoilers in it. If you haven't seen the latest manga chapter, 108, then please don't read this till you read the manga finale first (or the last chapter of Brotherhood, for that matter). I really don't want to spoil anything to anyone.  
**

Just a small peek into the near future, after the manga ended. Set after chapter 108 of the manga.

EdxWin drabble, some fluff and minor... Errr. Stuff. Not sure if it's the finished version just yet. One-shot (or maybe not...).

And let me tell you. I was VERY surprised with one thing. I'll tell you what it was in the end.

* * *

**CHAPTER 1** - Officially Commited

* * *

It was the best thing that could have happened to her that day.

Winry was, as per usual, sitting on her working bench in the early morning, repairing someone's old piece of automail. This particular piece desperately needed some reinforced attention…

When the phone rang.

She went to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Hey there!" Said the familiar voice from the other side of the line, "How've you been doing?"

"Edo! Hello! I'm fine, what about you?"

"I'm okay, I'm okay… Things are truly interesting here in the West. Lots of stuff you'd love… The scenarios and all. Huge mountains! Oh, and remember I talked about their food? I bought a recipe book."

"That's great, I'd love to try those recipes. Bring it over next time you're heading home, okay?"

She missed him. After that day when they parted at the train station, she missed him more each day that went by. Of course it helped each time he called her – almost every day, if not just to ask if she and Granny were okay – but still, she would like to hug him again. Hold his hands.

She kept thinking about what they told each other at the train station, and each time she did it seemed like she was made out of bubbles. Lots and lots of bubbles, just bubbling about and being very happy.

Of course that thought made her miss him even more…

"Lots of pretty ladies here, too."

"Wha… EDWARD!" she roared into the phone, which forced Ed to back away from the telephone speaker. He didn't want to wind up deaf so young.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! You know… I don't really… You know… Look at other girls. And such. You know."

They didn't need to tell each other that they were both blushing over the phone. They could almost feel the heat of the other's cheek on their own.

"Hmmm… You'd better not, Ed."

"You know me! I'm no good with girls anyways."

"You're good with me. And** for** me. And that's what matters, right?"

More blushing.

"Well… But I guess I'm no Don Juan though, right?"

They both laughed for a while at the thought – until there was a loud knock and a creaky door opened behind Winry. Her grandmother, reminding her that a customer was waiting.

"I gotta go Ed. I have a big customer waiting. Call me back later?"

"No need! I just called to let you guys know I'm heading over for a tune-up. I'll be there tomorrow night."

"Really? So soon?"

She was thrilled! She would take a long, scented tub bath and put on her best clothes and the fancy perfume he'd mailed her just a couple of weeks ago. She still giggled when she thought of the letter attached to it.

"_Dear Winry",_ it spelled,

"_It's not that I don't think you smell nice already. Because I do. I mean, you smell nice. But you girls love perfume, don't you? I hope so. And anyways, this one is nice. The lady from the store said it was summer freshness and all that, and wild berries. Or somethin__g nice like that._

"_It reminds me of you, somehow. Without the oil smell all over yourself, anyways._

"_Not that I mind the oil though! You still smell nice._

"_Talk soon._

"_Edward Elric, the globe-trotting adventurer."_

Of course she had every reason to laugh about it and tease him. She could picture him hitting his head on the desk as he scribbled the letter at the post office before mailing it. He'd rushed his already poor handwriting, but she still managed to decipher it.

Continuing the phone conversation:

"Why? Don't you think I've been gone for long enough? My automail needs some attention after these four months."

"Edward, my automail's not **that** frail…. Are you sure it's the automail that needs attention?"

"Humph. Well, I gotta go. Train to catch and all that. See you tomorrow, Winry! Give Granny a hug."

"Sure, I will. Have a safe trip."

* * *

The following day, Tuesday, had been hectic so far. Winry cursed the poor customers as they waited for their repairs. What's with the client boom all of a sudden? Today of all days?

She had to rush her bath, get dressed in a hurry, and dinner was late. It was past ten PM and still no Edward. Could he have run late?

She continuously peeked outside her window, but all she could see was an empty pathway. The moon had been shining with all its might though, and it almost seemed like it was daytime… But no sign of Ed.

After a while of staring into the distance, the clouds shifted and covered the moon – thus reducing visibility.

She cursed the clouds as well. Why was he running so late?

"Winry," her grandmother called, "Stop staring. Did he tell you what time he was coming?"

"No. He just told me he'd arrive this night."

"Well, it's not very late yet. So let's just have dinner now."

Pinako's granddaughter sighed in defeat and sluggishly tended to the dinner table. She put on three seats just in case.

"Did you get the mail today? I was expecting a letter," Pinako asked as she opened the pot containing the stew – Ed's favorite – and smelled it.

Winry groaned, "I forgot."

"Go get it then, because I need to know if old Colonel Jameson needs me to go over to Arandash (1) for his routine maintenance. That old hag… Good thing he pays lots of live money. It's almost three hours by train from here to his house. And I'm getting too old for that."

"Yes, yes grandmother… I know…"

Winry already had her hand around the doorknob when someone knocked at the door. She froze.

"_Could this be him?"_

She flung the door open to reveal the handsome, golden-eyed young man holding a large luggage and a handful of letters.

"I see someone forgot to grab the mail today, huh?"

"Edward, finally! Welcome home!" she threw her arms over his neck – he dropped the luggage, and the letters, and held her back tightly.

"I'm glad to be back. But… Don't choke me!"

She stepped back hesitantly – she didn't really want to let go.

"I was beginning to worry about you! I was starting to think that there could have been something wrong with the train or something."

She fussed over the letters on the floor and picked them up, flipping them until she found the one her grandmother had been expecting.

So old Colonel Jameson needed Pinako to go over for maintenance tomorrow after all… Knowing the old lady, she'd take her time in Arandash to go to one of her favorite automail-parts shop. She would probably ask Winry to go along with her.

But how did Pinako know the old army man would be needing a revision by now?

"You worry too much, Winry-san!" he teased, pulling her tongue at her as he grabbed his luggage and stepped in, closing the door behind him. "It's good to be back! Hi Granny."

"Just in time, kiddo. Welcome home! Have a seat and let's eat."

"It smells great, you two. And I'm starving!"

They sat down at the dinner table, conversation taking them well beyond half past eleven. Pinako complained at how late it was and how early she needed to get up tomorrow morning, so they cleaned up the kitchen and each proceeded to their rooms, bidding good night to each other.

Both Winry and Ed lay awake in their respective beds for a long time, thinking of tomorrow.

* * *

Edward woke up late. He was groggy, tired from the long trip. It was almost noon, and he needed a shower badly.

So he crawled into the bathroom, pulling a large fluffy towel from the wardrobe on his way there, and jumped into the warm shower – when he left, he was all freshened up.

Then he realized he was very, very hungry.

With the same towel he dried his hair a bit, springing his antenna up to finish it off. Towel wrapped around his waist, he opened the bathroom door so he could get dressed and head downstairs to fill his stomach up with some bread, jello and tea.

At that moment, Winry was rushing through the hallway carrying of bundle of her clothes in her hand, because she hadn't been able to find a damn basket to throw them into. She needed to take those over to the washing tank.

After her grandmother expressly told her she didn't need Winry to go with her to Arandash, she'd spent the whole morning in a cleaning frenzy. Mostly to keep her mind busy and off the sleeping boy in the room next to hers.

And just as Fate would have it – and we all know Fate works in funny ways – in the exact moment Ed opened the door Winry slammed against it, hitting the wooden floor with a large thud.

"Owch!"

Her clothes scattered all over the place, as if they had a mind of their own and were trying to escape the washing tank.

"I'm sorry! So sorry! I'll help you up!" Ed nervously apologized and bent down to grab Winry's right hand. He pulled her on her feet and examined her for bruises.

"I'm fine, I'm fine… Ow."

She rubbed her pained bottom, for it had hit the ground very hard. Her left arm and shoulder were sort of hurt from the impact against the door, but otherwise she was okay.

"Guess we're both kinda clumsy! It wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have been running here anyways."

"I guess, but… I'm still sorry. Here, I'll help you with those." He rubbed her head with his hand, in a kind gesture.

"No, there's no need for that, thanks…"

She realized he only had a towel around his waist. She forgot about her aching bottom and arm and stared at him for a bit too long. She couldn't help it anyways.

He was still dripping wet from the moisture. His skin, darker than hers, revealed the scar around and below his right shoulder. She hadn't had a chance to see his torso after he and Alphonse returned from the Promised Day; but it seemed different. His right arm, which at the time she noticed was quite skinnier than the left, was now just about as… juicy, as the other one.

There were changes in Edward. He was definitely becoming an adult.

For one, his shoulders were much broader than she could even remember. He now towered practically a full head head over her – no bean-boy there anymore. He would need another readjustment on his automail leg, alright.

His torso was longer, yet still firm and muscular. His chest only had a hair or two upon it, but she noticed what could be the shadow of a beard round his jaw line.

His hands were bigger. She felt the urge of seeing how one of her hands would fit inside one of his.

Of course Ed felt a little uneasy. He felt weird. And maybe because he wasn't quite fully awake yet, he blurted out:

"Winry. You're not, you know, **checking me out** or anything. Are you?"

Well, needless to say that statement was **really** awkward for both of them. He mentally kicked himself for saying that.

"Wha- what are you talking about? Of course I'm not! God, you're so cheeky sometimes."

He made a face and apologized again. "Hahaha! I was just messing with you. Umm, here, lemme help out."

She tried, but she couldn't stop him from grabbing a couple of her shirts, a pair of trousers, a sweatshirt – and her underwear.

Wrapped in one of her shirts was one of her panties. Small, black, _cotton_. Lace at the front. He tried dropping everything on the floor again, which only resulted in said clothing article getting caught right on the towel around his waist.

He awkwardly brushed it off and, apologizing once again, turned around and quickly hid inside his room.

That had to have been one of the most embarrassing moments, ever.

**

* * *

**Breakfast – should they really call it that? It was already past noon anyways – Winry had left him the tea kettle with his favorite tea bag inside, plus an empty cup, sugar, toasts, eggs, jam.

And half a cup of milk.

"Haha. Funny," he huffed, referring to the last item.

"That was mine, if you must know."

Ed filled his own empty cup with tea and added in three small spoons of sugar. While stirring, he said casually, "Funny how I turned out tall, when I don't even drink any milk at all. And you do, yet you're still short. Isn't the world funny?"

In response, a piece of toast hit him right above his right eyebrow. Winry glared over at him, pretending to be offended.

"Ha! See? It's not good to be in the receiving end of the jokes, is it? Or should I call it… the _short_ end?"

Yet another piece of flying toast, but this time he skillfully dodged it. One more thing to tease her about.

"What's wrong Winry? Ran out of wrenches to hit me with? Come on, isn't there even one little bolt around here you can throw?"

He smiled one of his cocky smiles at her and placed his hands on his hips as if saying, ' I'm invincible! '.

"That's it, you cocky little…!" She stood up and got ready to chase him to the end of the world, such the need for revenge.

"Heee! _'Little'_? I don't think so, short stuff!"

Still smiling like a dummy, and laughing like one as well, he bolted off into the living room with Winry hot on his tail.

"I'll get you!" she yelled as she chased him around the sofa, the living room table, the staircase.

"You can't catch me!" he teased.

"Just wait and you'll see!"

"I'm lightning fast, baby! Whoo!"

He opened the living room door before she could skip from behind the table and grab him. He took one step into the porch and then jumped over the staircase, running off into the grassy exterior that surrounded the house; once he reached the low stone wall surrounding the Rockbell residence he sat on it triumphantly.

"You're such an idiot! Are you nuts?" she half-yelled, half-laughd as she ran step by step down the front staircase of her house.

"I can't hear you from far out here!"

She was already half the way through when he jumped out form the top of the wall and ran toward the back of the house. He felt energetic and spunky, happy that he was revisiting this familiar scenario.

The scenario he loved the most out of any other he's ever seen…

This quiet little village. He wanted the next generation to know it, love it, and grown in it. Surrounded by calm, peaceful neighbors and friendly travelers, a happy family of his own. To raise, love, teach – and never, ever, leave their side.

Well, they could travel with him if he needed to go places. He'd like nothing else than to travel around, like a nomad but with his own troupe behind him and a home to return to.

But before there ever was a home… There needed to be a house. He slowed down his pace…

"Wait, Ed! I'm running out of breath already. Stop!" Winry commanded.

She just didn't expect he'd comply.

He stood to a halt and turned around so she didn't have time to stop before bumping into him. She fell right into his arms. He embraced her as tightly as he had at the train station, months before.

"Ah… wait…" She gasped and tried to wriggle out of his grasp, "I still need to punch you over the head!"

"Right. As if your little arm could reach this high!"

"Don't tempt me; I can reach whichever places I want!" and to prove it, she stood on her toes and gently hit the top of his head with her fist.

They continued laughing for quite a while, swaying back and forth with their arms gingerly placed around each other.

He untangled himself from her and held her hands. She was right – his hands **were** a lot bigger than before. She noticed he was making a serious face and frowned.

"What's wrong, Ed?"

He looked around. He breathed in heavily and locked the precious air inside his lungs for a while before releasing it. This was, definitely, his favorite place in the world. Beautiful landscape, pure air, safe and quiet. He just needed a library…

He stared into her blue eyes one more time just to make sure he was doing the right thing. He held her hands a little tighter within his own.

"Hey. Are you still set on our promise?" he asked. His voice was serious, set, determined. Strong.

She hesitated, caught unaware. She thought about it and forgot how to breathe for a few moments; when he tilted his head sideways, waiting for her to reply, her lungs started working again.

"Yes," she breathed out nervously, "Eighty-five percent, was it?"

He chuckled. "Let's make it at least ninety-five percent then, if you don't mind."

"Oh! Well, I… I don't know… I guess I don't mind, uh…"

"Winry. Is that a yes?"

"Hm," she hesitated again for a split second, unsure of what he meant. But she knew what she felt for sure. One hundred percent sure. "That's a yes."

They smiled at each other again.

Edward felt a little dizzy, but he had made up his mind. He was afraid his heart or his chest would collapse at this time, so he took one more deep breath, slowly, before he spoke again.

"Okay," he said, "Let's just do this once more. Properly, this time."

It was all appropriate. She was wearing the cutest white dress, backless. Her loose hair hung over her shoulders, still messy from the run. So he released her hands and gently brushed her head with his hands, holding on to a single lock of hair for a moment before letting it hang loosely.

Sunny and warm outside, little clouds in the sky as witnesses – and Den, sitting next to the water barrel just behind them.

It was now or never.

So he reached for the content of his left pocket with his left hand. At the sight of Edward pulling out the small, red velvet box Winry almost felt like she was fainting.

He kneeled on his left leg, the automail leg she made for him. The reason he's been able to stand up for so many years now.

With his right hand he pulled the little lid open, revealing the thin, embroidered gold ring that hid inside it. Also with his right hand, he gently took the engagement ring out of the box – which he then set on the floor.

He took her left hand within his own.

"Winry… Will you… Ummm," another deep breath, concentrate. "Take **whichever** percentage of my life to keep as yours, giving me in exchange the same percentage of your own?"

She couldn't see him very well anymore, because of the all those tears welling up in her eyes. With the last of her breath she mustered, determined:

"Yes. It's a promise!"

He smiled again, softly still. Happy. Relieved. Thrilled.

"A promise for the rest of our lives, then…"

The ring slid into her finger perfectly.

**

* * *

**

She couldn't remember ever smiling and laughing so much in one day.

Pinako congratulated them when she arrived home later that afternoon. Turns out she already knew Ed was proposing.

"You know, he's a real gentleman. He called me a couple of weeks ago asking for my permission. Took a lot of nerve from him! But I'm damn glad he did."

Winry was perplexed, of course. She hadn't expected that. That really was the deed of a gentleman.

He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Well, you know. I just **had** to ask. I didn't want to do this without your consent, Granny."

They called Alphonse – who, of course, already knew about the proposal but still pretended to be pretty surprised. He promised he would be there to help with the arrangements, when they needed him to. He congratulated them and wished he were there for a big hug, but sadly the Xing desert is really hard to cross...

"I'm so happy though!" he kept saying over and over again.

Winry could swear she could somehow _hear_ the tears of joy running down Alphonse's cheeks. She even heard Mei squeal and congratulate them.

By the end of the next day, no one knows how exactly, every neighbor was coming over to congratulate them on the betrothal.

"Winry, you're so lucky!" said one of their childhood friends, Melinda. "Edward really has grown into a handsome young man. He's so tall now!"

Remarks on Ed's height and how pretty the ring was were a constant, especially from the friends whom they'd attended school with.

"Have you set a date yet?" Another girl, Amanda, asked.

"Oh, what about the ceremony? Will you have it here at our church? My great-uncle would love to be your priest!" Samuel was a couple of years older and great-nephew of the main priest in Risembool, probably the future priest himself. He was really happy for his friends.

"Is Alphonse going to be the best man?" someone else asked.

"Wait up, you guys!" Winry pleaded, desperate under the gaze of so many curious sets of eyes. "We don't have a date or anything! It's just…"

"I just wanted to make a promise official, that's all. Nothing defined just yet, so quit being so curious!"

Edward was glad that everyone was happy for them, but he just didn't want all that fuss around him.

"We should throw an engagement party!" One of Pinako's friends and the town's main butcher, Mr. Hicks, spoke out a little louder than he could have. Intentionally.

Everyone cheered and agreed.

"We have a wedding on the way, and between these two of all people! The whole village should celebrate with a fire, barbecue and the finest of wines, of course!" said Mrs. Hicks.

The three – Pinako, Edward and Winry – all sighed with relief as soon as everyone was thrown out of the house by the Rockbell elder.

"You know kids, the town really is happy. Besides, it'll give them a reason to throw on a party and have a blast, as usual. But they sure **can** be annoying!"

It was late, almost midnight, when everyone left. The place was a mess – tomorrow they would have a huge headache cleaning things up. They couldn't even image the party that the villagers were thinking about throwing at the town square, two days from now – Saturday.

Winry slipped into her bed and tried to get ready for some sleep, but she couldn't. Everything inside her head was spinning too fast for her liking.

After about an hour and a half – still no sleep – the door to her room gently creaked open. The intruder shut the door silently behind him and tiptoed as quietly as he could to the side of her bed. Luckily, his slippers muffled the sound of his automail.

"Ed!" Winry hissed, "What are you doing here?" she turned on the lamp that stood on her nightstand. He was dressed in his shorts only, which didn't seem like a very good idea to her.

Did he come here shirtless on purpose? Was he nuts?

"I couldn't sleep. Can I sit here?" He asked but sat on her bed anyways, without waiting for her reply.

"I couldn't sleep either…"

"These past two days have been kinda long, right?"

"Yup."

"You know everyone always gets excited over this kind of stuff."

"Yeah…"

"I mean, they're throwing a party and we don't even have a scheduled date. Or even a year!"

"That's right."

"And I was planning on staying here for a week, but I guess I'll have to stick around for longer."

"Well, that's good. You'd better."

After almost a minute of silence, he had to ask: "And who the hell spread the word around anyways?"

"Umm. That could have been Rosie this morning. I was picking some flowers near the trail and she walked by, came to say hello and ask me for a glass of water… And she must have seen my ring." Winry was now looking tenderly at her left ring finger, turning the ring around with her thumb. It was her prized possession, and she couldn't fit the happiness for it inside her chest.

"You should have seen the look on her face! Her eyes were so wide! And she took forever to grab the glass of water. But she didn't say a word at first. She must have told her sisters… Magdalena is 21 and she's never even had a boyfriend, not one. And Roberta is only 13 but she's such a nosy kid!..."

Silence. Ed didn't quite know what to say. He noticed the way she looked at the ring he gave her: proudly. She was genuinely happy.

"Hahaha," he tried not to laugh too loud, "I bet every girl here is dying of jealousy!"

"Hm?" she tore her eyes from her precious promise ring and glared at him. "And exactly what is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you know… I'm a tall and, let's face it, really handsome guy. Plus I'm smart and I've got some cash – and did I mention I'm tall? Yup."

She giggled and punched him in the arm.

"Stop talking gibberish, you dummy!"

He stuck his tongue out to her. "Wel, I **am** all that," he mumbled.

"You know, I've been thinking. I'm not as old as Magdalena, but I've never had a boyfriend just like her, too. I guess I've been waiting for you all along. For a day like that one at the station."

"Hm? Uh. Well, me too. You know, but a girl. I mean, never had a girlfriend before. I mean. Uhhh… What's this all about anyways?"

She fidgeted with her ring nervously, embarrassed at her own thoughts. But she needed to say it.

"You know. We're not… We've never really been a boyfriend and girlfriend, have we?"

Why did she have to blush so hard? And why does he have to chucke so irresistibly?

"I have no idea. But we're kinda more than that now. We're …" he was oddly afraid of the word 'engaged' and also 'betrothed' didn't seem quite right, so he avoided those. "Commited. To each other. We made a promise for life. That's a greater bond, right?"

"_We've never even kissed…"_ she thought bitterly.

"Yeah, I guess. I guess it is, right?" She half-smiled, not entirely sure of herself.

"Yeah, it **is** Winry. But you know what? You're right. We **are** missing out on something," he breathed in and out slowly, set on the task that had brought him to her room tonight in the first place.

He gingerly placed his hand on hers; and she shyly entwined her fingers with his.

"Let's seal this bond further."

"… _Further?"_

He readjusted his position on top of her bed. Slowly, he moved towards her until they were sitting side-by-side. He faced her and leaned closer until their noses touched. She had no idea why, but she tried to back away – of course she couldn't because her back was already pressed against her bed frame.

He didn't keep his eyes off hers until their lips touched. A slight brush at first, and then they both closed their eyes. The sense of sight reduced to nothing, only the touch and sound were present, heightened.

The sound of their breathing and of their hearts pounding in their ears. A slightly longer kiss, lips moving unsure of what to do.

A pause for breath. Eyes still closed, one more kiss. Longer, not quite as shy as the previous ones – and long enough to taste each other.

Their first kiss.

First of many to come, hopefully.

After a few minutes, they had to stop. Somehow they had pressed a little too much against one another and found themselves tumbling over her bed, arms entangled.

He took his lips away from hers and kissed her jaw; he continued down to her neck and then her collarbone. She shivered all over, despite the fact that he was very warm and he was lying **right** on top of her.

She felt something press lightly against her thigh. It could only be **one **thing – she gasped.

Edward snapped out of it, realizing maybe they'd gone too far. He rolled over so he would lay there next to her, to catch his breath. He grabbed some of the sheets and tried to cover his – uhhh – _overjoyness_-indicator.

"… That was... intense." She breathed out.

"Oh. Look, I… I'm sorry. I couldn't help this, it's just that it's like it, uh, has a **mind** of its own and –"

"What? Oh," she covered her face with her hands, embarrassed. It was somehow weirder to have him talk about it than it was to have felt it. "Just, just… never mind that. It's okay. I, uh, I understand."

He waited perfectly still for a few more moments, speechless, right next to her. He needed to calm down.

"I, uh, should go back to my room. Good night, Winry."

He sat up and got ready to get out of the bed and leave, but then she caught his hand. He sat back down again, his boxer shorts still unable to disguise his body's natural reaction.

"Wait. Just… Do that again. Kiss me again."

* * *

END OF CHAPTER 1

* * *

**Side notes:**

**(1)** Arandash. Just the name of some random little town nearby. I made it up and that's why it sucks. xD

I know this was kind of rushed and all. It's still open for improvements. This was supposed to be a one-shot, but I'm not entirely sure if I'll make a short sequel of the wedding day and night or something like that. (oh, and DO NOT mind eventual typos. I get them a lot)

**So...**

The thing that suprised me was how it was actually Edward who had the guts to "pour" his heart out and ask what he asked to Winry like that. I never would have thought!

So I figured, "Hey, I bet he'll go back in a few months to make things official. Why not?"

So here goes. How things evolve from the train station until they are married and have the kids is within our own imagination. Maybe I'll share mine with everyone out here. :)

_Review, let me hear your thoughts! Vote if you want to see a sequel - party, preparations, wedding, wedding night, BABIES. Who knows? :D  
_

**-goes back to glooming about the fact that FMA is finally over-**


	2. A Halfway Confession

_**I practice every day to find some clever **_

_**lines to say **,_

_**To make the meaning come through;**_

_**But then I think I'll wait until the evening**_

_**gets late **_

**_And I'm alone with you_.**

_**The **__**time is right,**_

_**Your perfume fills my head**_

_**The stars get red,**_

_**And oh the night's so blue…**_

_**And then I go and spoil it all**_

_**By saying something stupid like**_

"_**I love you"**_

_**- **__Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue_

_

* * *

_

**A/N:** This song just seemed appropriate! Well, a little appropriate at least. Some lines fit this scene perfectly but I won't write the whole song here, else you guys would most likely kill me.

Hence, something simple and - hopefully - cute for an update. It's not a very long chapter, no, but I wanted to write some of the things here badly and... Today it just came gushing out.

So please, enjoy the ride. I have so many ideas in mind that I can barely keep them in order, but I'll try my best! Give me OPINIONS people, opinions. Or, you know, go the simple way around it and just say "I like it" or "I din't like it STFU get off yer keyboard lady". Whichever you'd like. xD

* * *

**CHAPTER 2 - A Halfway Confession**

* * *

Previously:

_He waited __(…). He needed to calm down._

"_I, uh, should go back to my room. Good night, Winry."_

_He sat up and got ready to get out of the bed and leave, but she caught his hand. He sat back down again, his boxer shorts still unable to disguise his body's natural reaction._

"_Wait. Just… Do that again. Kiss me again."_

_

* * *

_

"Winry. I don't think I should."

Edward hesitated. She was pleading for another kiss, but he was… Afraid of it?

Nah. The kiss itself didn't worry him – in fact that's exactly what he wanted to do right then, at that moment. But what if the kissing led to something else?

"… Just one more?"

She gave him the hurt fluffy puppy stare. Damn, that's one low blow.

"Fine," he sighed in defeat. "You win. C'mere…"

He outstretched his hand so he could pull her towards him and hold her back as they kissed; an embrace of sorts.

Obviously, considering the distance between them, they'd both have to lean in for the kiss.

The problem was with Winry leaning closer to him; her night gown's cleavage was more revealing than she probably intended it to be, under certain angles.

He was in one of those angles, right now.

Hence when they locked their lips again, all sorts of distressing thoughts were gushing into his mind, speeding like a train absent breaks.

So he gasped mid-kiss – his breathing was becoming once more irregular – and his tongue brushed her lip. She, in turn, caught her own breath and stopped.

It's a natural attraction thing. Only with shy people like them, it acts in reverse – the tension was too much to handle. They hadn't the foggiest about what to do next, so it was best to let the dust settle.

Ed let out a sound that was half a moan, half a groan. This time, he stood up and walked away with no hand to hold him back.

He mumbled her a 'good night' and exited as silently as he had come in, leaving her sitting perplexed on her bed. She had no clue of what to do with herself, so she tried to calm down and not think those terribly inconvenient thoughts about her childhood friend.

Whom she had promised to marry.

And we all know what being married implies… A wedding_** night**_.

"_Oh, what a headache!"_ she slumped back into her bed and hid under the covers, as if **that** would help.

It was so embarrassing. If he only knew what was going on through her mind right now… How could she face him in the morning after those thoughts?

And what was **he** thinking about? Well, he was the first one to turn a chaste kiss into a… a… a what?

"_Oh God. Now I really can't fall asleep."_

_

* * *

_

They woke up early the following day to clean up the mess from the prior evening. Ed and Winry kept to their silence, embarrassed about last night's events.

"You two are awfully quiet this morning. Something wrong?" Pinako asked.

"Headache," her granddaughter lied.

"Hungry," was Ed's excuse.

"Don't tell me you spent the whole night up thinking about those silly villagers! You kids…"

Until they were finished cleaning up and sat down at the table to (finally) eat breakfast, Pinako didn't shut up about how nosy people could get all of a sudden. She gave them quite the speech on how not to over think things and go with the flow of events.

"Ah, Edward," she suddenly remembered something while cleaning the dishes, "didn't you say you wanted some adjustments to you leg? You've been here for two whole days already! Better get that over with soon."

"_Damn it. Just now that I needed some fresh air."_

"It's okay Granny, I'm gonna be here for a few more days, so…"

"Don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today. Go do that now while we're customer free... Winry?"

So now they were alone in Winry's bedroom, because Pinako had shooed them from the workshop. Great. Just what their still-teenager minds, still teeming freshly with last night's events, needed at that moment. Being alone again in the same room.

"Ed."

"Hm? What."

"You don't need to remove your shirt, you know. Just, uh… Just the pants is fine. I'm working on your leg, as far as I recall it."

Not that she'd ever been bothered by seeing him shirtless before, but now the circumstances had changed slightly. Especially today, she didn't want something weird to happen between them.

"Oh, sorry. But it's so hot inside this place, I'm sweating like a damn sinner in church."

The way he phrased this **was** rather funny, but she merely overlooked that detail.

"Well I'm sure you'll cool down as soon as you stand still! Now go sit on the bed." She replied with a bossy tone, pointing towards said piece of furniture. Then she went to fetch her workbox.

"Fine. I'll just leave it unbuttoned, then." He deadpanned. He removed his pants and dropped them heavily on the wooden floor; then, instead of sitting on the edge of the bed, he lay down and sprawled over it. He cursed the heat under his breath, wondering why was this particular week being so hot.

Winry was stalling, Ed could tell. She kept searching for this or that tool and pretended to have lost her measuring tape – in fact, she was trying to focus on the metal limb and not on the man attached to it.

Finally she started examining his automail.

"Well," she said after about a couple of minutes, "Looks like you've gotten slightly taller. Again. And you should've been taking better care of your leg, it needs oil and proper cleaning. It's got quite a bit of dust in it! Geez…"

Ed merely nodded and closed his eyes while she worked. After a couple more minutes she started making weird sounds, as if something was puzzling her.

"What is it?" he demanded.

"I need to adjust the height… _And_ I need to reinforce your knee a little." She sighed and stretched her hand to grab some metallic instrument that lay in her bed.

"I hope you stop growing like this soon." She mumbled absent-mindeldy while taking another quick look at his leg, now examining his toes.

"Whaaaat? Oh come on," he said, pretending to sound offended, "I love being tall!"

"But having to adjust your leg every few months is so exhausting!" she said theatrically, putting the back of her hand to her forehead as if she would have to go through the worst endeavor in the world.

"I thought you liked tall guys. I do remember you saying you wouldn't marry anyone shorter than you," he replied with a wry smirk, "so the taller I get… The better."

They both blushed. She giggled and bit her lip; automatically her hand flew towards her face with the intent of covering it.

"I already promised, Edo! Stop being silly! I'd keep my promise even if you got back to being a bean."

She stuck her tongue out at him and playfully punched his left arm. They both laughed, and the mechanical maintenance began.

After what seemed like an eternity to Ed, they were done.

He got up, stretched his numb limbs, and moved his leg around a little. She watched him put his pants back on and button up his shirt; there was a thought bothering her…

"Winry. You've been giving me this weird look all morning. What is it?" he finally asked. Her gaze was beginning to bother him somewhat, so he wanted to know what was going through her mind. There was no arguing with that look of his, simultaneously intrigued and stubborn. She'd have to say it.

"Fine," she sighed, "Look… Be honest. Did you drink from Granny's stash last night?"

Silence. An embarrassed, awkward silence and a **very** weird expression on Ed's face.

"Whaaaat? Me? Nonononononono, of course not!" he stuttered, waving his open hands at her in a dismissing gesture. "Why would you think such a thing?

"You're such a bad liar!" She replied with a smirk, standing up right in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"I knew it! You smelled of menthol last night, so you brushed your teeth!"

"Of course I did! You wouldn't have wanted to – well, I mean, **do** _the_ _you know what_ if my breath was bad, now would you?" He blushed violently.

She half-ignored him and let out a loud exclamation, "HA! Plus, you didn't have your shirt on, probably because the drink made you feel hot, right? I knew it."

"Wh- huh? That's ridiculous. I didn't drin –"

"Too late, Ed. I noticed the bottle. The lid wasn't on right and the liquid was beneath the label mark. It wasn't granny, sooo…"

Ack. She won **that** argument.

He growled with the annoyance of the whole situation. The only reason he'd had a cup (okay, two) of Granny's special brew was because he thought it might help him calm down his nerves before heading into Winry's room.

"Fine. I had like one swig of it. No big deal." He murmured, annoyed. "I was nervous." He added reluctantly.

"Kyaaa, how sweet!" she giggled and cooed like a little teenager. Ed didn't show much of a taste for drinks, so he'd just had one to calm down his nerves. **That's** why he was so… willing last night.

This kind of caught him unaware. She thought it was sweet? She wasn't pissed or anything that he'd needed to take a sip of happy-juice before he managed the resolve to kiss her?

She hesitated whether to hug him or not before shooing him out of her room; but somehow her shyness violently took over her and she decided not to. That would have to wait for some other time... For now, she settled with teasing him with implied jokes till the end of the day.

* * *

Finally, it was Saturday. It had been warm all day, sunny outside, fresh under the shade of the trees.

Party night in Risembool.

The day wasn't even over and already you could hear music being played, people laughing, and the smell of barbecue filled the air. Tonight, people would not dine at home but at the town's main plaza.

"Oh Winry, what a lovely dress!" her friends complimented her constantly about her white backless dress. The same one she'd worn the day Ed gave her the ring.

"Thank you! I bought it last week." She said, smiling. She was always smiling today. She knew very well that the villagers were partially just there for the sake of the party, but of course there was also some celebration to be done.

She spent the evening listening to how wonderful it was for a young couple to get engaged; how everyone was surprised because they always thought Edward would never be the type to settle down; how, speaking of couples, some of the women had met their husbands; and how great the wine tasted.

Regarding Edward she overheard a few comments here and there about how some women doubted he could **really** just settle in one place.

"It's probably a genetic defect…" Winry had heard one of the women whisper. But she couldn't give a damn about them. All she cared about was Edward, and she knew travelling was a part of him. She accepted that a long time ago.

Somehow her own grandmother convinced her to drink almost a full cup of wine. She didn't like it much, but social duties demanded so. It would have been rude to decline.

After a long time of being apart – caught up by conversations with the other villagers in different places – Edward and Winry finally met up near one of the snacks tables.

"So," she asked casually, "How have the conversations been like?"

"Ah, well, not usually my type of conversations… And let's leave it at that."

He shuddered, recalling how some of the older and bolder men tried to talk to him about the many great things about women; some of them had rather crude things to say, in fact. Some weird jokes he'd rather not have heard, let alone reproduce, and weird commentaries. They kept saying he was now "appropriate" for this kind of manly chatter, since he was about to get married himself.

She threw him a quizzical look, to which he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Let's just say sometimes women are right when they say men are –"

They were both startled when someone jumped in front of them, out of the blue. It was a young man in his early twenties, Samuel, a talented guitarist and known for being a heartbreaker.

Edward never liked the way he approached Winry.

"Aha! You two, you need to share a dance!" He blasted this out casually as if a dance was just like brushing your hair in the morning.

Edward's face paled to the point he looked pretty much like a ghost. With an acute anemia.

NO, he immediately belched out; well that would be great!, she instinctively squealed. They stared at each other – one mortified and the other disappointed.

"Dancing isn't my strong-suit." He corrected meekly.

Samuel was about to produce a "Shall **we** dance then?" directed to her, but Winry's cold blue gaze cut him off. So he just settled for a "Fine, suit yourself."

She told Ed she wasn't mad. She didn't want him feeling embarrassed or anything in front of so many people.

He smiled thankfully and nodded. Next thing she knew it, he had a hold of her hand and was guiding her away from the crowd. Not many people noticed them leaving, but those who did were tactful enough not to say anything.

Just comments about the springtime of life that every young person seems to not take enough advantage of and those kinds of things; as usually expected from old people who are no longer enchanted by life.

"Heh, sorry but… I really needed to get away from that crowd. It's so late already." He emphasized his point by taking a look at his wrist-watch under the weak light produced by the half-moon. "And... we've barely been with each other tonight." He added afterwards, in a hurried phrase as if he had to be cautious with those kinds of words.

She didn't quite know what to say about that, so she let out a small an embarrassed sigh before touching his arm with her hand in comprehension.

They kept on walking about in silence until they reached a more quiet place, where they sort of nestled underneath a tree. They could see the lights from the bonfire and street lamps that lit the plaza and they clearly heard the music and laughter coming from the crowd. But somehow now it felt better, to be farther away from all that mess and left alone with each other to admire the tranquility of the night.

If they were to 'celebrate' their commitment, they'd like to do it as alone as possible - at least for now.

"The stars," she mumbled absent-mindedly after a few minutes. "The sky looks really beautiful tonight."

He took one glance upwards: half the starry sky was hidden behind the many leaves of the young tree, but it still looked, indeed, very beautiful.

Oh no, he thought. Speaking of beautiful, Alphonse had said something about how Ed should compliment Winry's physical appearance. Women liked that, Alphonse had said. His little brother was suddenly very knowing in that area...

Truthfully, Ed really wanted to speak to her about how he felt. But he was (perhaps irrationally) afraid of saying anything near the line of _"I love you"_ ... What did that mean exactly, after all? He did love her, he guessed, but what was it that he felt exactly? He couldn't pinpoint love; he couldn't pinpoint if the love she had for him was the same he had for her so... He doesn't want to spoil anything, hence it's best to keep things simple.

So he turned his gaze slowly upon her. Sure he noticed the fine details, but which ones should he praise? All of them? And with what words? He didn't want to sound cheesy. Hell no!

He loved her thick and long eyelashes and the color of her eyes. The glossy pink of her lips, especially when they were moist. The color of her hair and how soft it looked, all tidy and smoothe. The eyes again: they had an adorable shape. Her chin. Her neck – he enjoyed is fantasies about kissing it.

A blush crept upon his face. And the more he admired her, the heavier his blush got. The dress didn't have a huge cleavage but… It was tight, and revealing enough to allow his mind to wonder about dangerous places.

"_Time to pump the breaks,"_ he thought, blinking his eyes madly as if to shake the eventual thoughts off.

She unglued her eyes from the starry sky after she heard him let out a long, unintentional sigh.

"What?" She was afraid that he might be bored or something.

But he wasn't. It was the force of sheer awkwardness and shyness altogether that robbed them both from the right words needed to break that silence.

"I… I like your dress. It's pretty." He pointed out lamely, using up every ounce of his guts to get that out of his system.

"Thank you. I'm glad." She added in her mind, _"I bought it just for you."_

She had oddly bought it just a few days before Ed called announcing his arrival – a strange coincidence.

Think, Edward Elric. What else did Al say? Winry's got pretty hair and pretty eyes. Golden as the morning sun and as blue as the deepest ocean – something like that. So Ed took another gulp of internal courage.

"Your eyes are blue. A- and you've got - uh, hair. It's – eheh – yellow."

... That had to be one of the dumbest, **dumbest **things he'd ever recall saying. Ever. He already knew it was dumb before he was halfway through saying it.

Winry just stared at him for a few seconds before bursting out into muffled laughter, her palm desperately trying to conceal her reaction.

All he could muster was to let out a small whimper in defeat. He eventually frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, staring irritably into the dark night. Well, he couldn't blame her for her reaction, so he mentally kicked himself a hundred times instead.

"I can't believe… haha! That you of all people… Hee! Hahaha, would try something like that! Thee heee!" She teased him between fits of giggles – and poked at him like a little child happy to find the other kid's weak spot, just for provocations' sake.

"Fine fine, enough already." He mumbled. She was getting a bit breathless, and honestly there was no real need to make so much fun of him.

"I'm sorry." She finally managed to say in an even breath. "But that was just so darn cute."

Now he blushed and fiddled with his thumbs, his mortification now reduced to some feeling that he couldn't quite lay his finger on.

Now it was her time to be bold. But she was no longer as quite and shy as she had once been; as he still is.

"You know, I love those eyes of yours. I don't think I've ever met anyone with eyes like that."

As if on cue, he shifted his sight from far into the horizon directly to her face, lips slightly parted in a silent gasp and pupils diminished out of mild surprise. It was supposed to be the other way around, not the girl telling the guy how cute he was!

"And your hair makes me jealous sometimes." She paused to let out a nervous sigh. "I love the way you smile, even when you're making fun of me or being plain silly."

She finished it off with another nervous giggle, as soft as she could. She kind of felt like she had air trapped somewhere within her body and couldn't quite find the way to let it out.

She still didn't have enough courage for the small details though. Like how sometimes his gaze made her feel like she was entirely made of pudding, giving her the odd sensation of wobbling about like a bubble instead of actually walking. How she wished a hundred times over that she would have the courage to run her hand freely through his hair. How his cocky grin, even when it infuriated her, always made him look like the most kissable person in the world.

No, those confessions were too deep and intimate to be revealed. At least, anytime soon. And let us leave out other considerations about certain other body parts – his smooth skin and strong muscles, plump flesh hardened with the effort of constant training. The muscles in his arm that stood out when he flexed his arm behind his head made her go absolutely _wild_ – a rather improper feeling which she tried to discharge each time it occurred.

But even with her cheeks so flushed and face so hot, as soon as a sudden blow of wind hit her bare skin she shivered and became covered in goosebumps. She flew her arms around her torso and pressed her legs closer together instinctively; obviously the night was getting a bit too cold than she'd want it to. Why hadn't she brought a jacket or something from home?

In an almost automatic move, Edward undressed his summer jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders and arms. He let his hands linger there for a moment – a silent gesture of tenderness – before removing them and staring back into the invisible horizon.

"You're lovely." Was all he could mutter, almost imperceptibly. Embarassed to no end, of course, because these kinds of things were never easy for him. This spurred a funny reaction...

The tingling started in her thumbs, spread through her hands and arms, and eventually it took over of all of her body, slowly. A funny tingling caused by who knows what; how the subconscious brain is able to provoke such a reaction on the body is yet one of the mysteries related to love that don't quite have an explanation.

The tingling was so strong around her thumbs and forearms that it almost felt like it was some external force maneuvering her body, moving her hand so it would wrap itself around Edward's. When his fingers entwined with hers – and now he had the exact same tingling sensation she did – and squeezed her hand softly, her one reaction was to move as close as she could and simply lay her head on his shoulder.

The breathing of both of them was quite irregular at this point.

"I feel like I've eaten a box full of butterflies." He chuckled.

"So that makes two of us." She replied, now pressing her nose against his neck and breathing in slowly. He reacted to the shivers provoked by her actions by moving his shoulder blades slightly, as if he could shake the shivers off.

He half-turned his head to look at her and said, in his defense, "I only drank half a cup of wine, mind you. I tossed the rest away when no one was looking," before he tilted his head and let his lips press upon hers.

She shifted into a more comfortable position, arms now fully swung around his neck – while his hands clumsily held her waist – "Ah, but I had a full glass of it…"

The sounds of the party were now mere echoes in the distance. The air was no longer cool, but seemed as warm as it had been during the day. They needed only the dim light provided by the moon to find each other's heart and embrace it; no guidance other than awakening instincts were needed to lock lips once more.

* * *

**Aaah, okay. Second chapter done with. I'ms till thinking about how (and what) the next one will be. xD  
**

**I crammed a quote in there from a recent movie, kudos if you can find it! :D In fact, feel free to ask a request if you manage to pinpoint the quote. Request being something I can write, of course... If you want.  
**

**Well, thanks for the support you guys. Hope this chapter was anywhere near as likeable as the first one. I sure don't wanna disappoint anyone.**

**_-Nef_**


	3. Saudades

**_" I've never felt this way before,_**

**_Everything that I do, reminds me of you._**

**_And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor_**

**_And they smell just like you, I love the things that you do._**

**_When you walk away I count the steps that you take;_**

**_Do you see how much I need you right now ? "_**

_- Avril Lavigne, "When You're Gone"  
_

* * *

**Hello again everyone! I know I've been gone for ages and not updating, but this IS my final year so I can't risk becoming too sidetracked from my classes. Plus, I've been without internet ever since I moved out of my home, which sucks big time.  
**

**But I know nobody's here to listen to me whining and moaning, so here we go, finally, an update!**

**Why this song? Well, it most obviously _fits_ Edward and Winry's relationship.**

**Sorry if this is a little gloomy sometimes; but as in real life, ficitonal characters can't always get only the good parts goin'! There are a lot of hidden pains and scars in each one of them, and things that also compromise their relationship. I just feel a need to explore that, together with all the good stuff that comes along.**

**These flaws make them so much more complete and perfect...  
**

**

* * *

CHAPTER THREE: **_Saudades_**  
**

* * *

How was this possible? How on God's name could she be so stupid? He hadn't called her in a months…

Edward was gone again. Nearly five months now. After the "engagement party" that summer, he told her he really needed to go back West to talk to a very special man, a person whom would have answers for some of his and his brother's questions.

Something about modifying the Law of Equivalent exchange.

But did that mean that he had to stop calling her? He would only call once every week, and he was always in a hurry, couldn't stay more than a couple of minutes on the phone.

"I'm so stupid!" She wailed as she sunk into her mattress limply. In ten minutes she sogged up her pillow and then, annoyed, she threw it on the floor. It wasn't like her to be this angry. It wasn't like her at all.

She usually coped very well with his absence, but now… It was like she was paranoid. Constantly thinking about how she missed him and how badly she wanted him back. Thinking about those two years he and Al had stayed at home with her and Granny… She wished she could turn back the clock somehow. Those two dummies were gone again and here she laid, red face filled with tears that pooled up over her sheets.

It must have been the kisses. Of course! They changed everything between them. Or rather, they changed the way she _saw_ him; he was no longer her childhood friend, but a man that belonged to her the way she belonged to him. This sounded a bit archaic, yes, but she couldn't shake off that sense of belonging, of ownership almost. She kept holding on to a dream - which visited her day and night.

Edward would arrive in a beautiful day, and hug her closely.

They would schedule the date for the wedding.

He would help her with the plans.

Alphonse would come, they'd hug, and talk forever.

Ed would finally be waiting for her inside the chapel, handsome as never before.

The wedding day would be fabulous, dazzling.

The wedding night would be better.

They would share all things that a married couple share. The kisses that night would be going deeper and further than ever…

And then what? The dream, lately, had taken a turn for the worst… She'd give herself to him and then he'd be gone after a month, maybe two. Would they be going out on a honeymoon? Or would she be left alone and aching, while he wandered off again… Into new towns… Meeting new people, new **women**…

Too many doubts.

At this point of her "dream" she had her head filled with a thousand silent voices chanting tales of unfaithful men and the crushed women they left behind.

Or young lovers torn by early, untimely deaths…

That was it. She couldn't marry him. He'd never be with her for too long, she'd always doubt and worry until she got sick. She was used to waiting for him, but that was _before_… Her mind works different ways now – she's a woman, having already accomplished her 20th birthday in November – and it was January now. She didn't want to be one of those poor women who sit and wait for the rest of their lives, bound to their husband's wandering spirits.

She'd rather be alone.

And, shivering with pain, she threw her ring with all her might through her bedroom window and into the darkness, where it fell. Hopefully the cold dark night would somehow swallow it forever.

* * *

Somewhere very far away, a young man shifted uncomfortably in his sleep. He woke up suddenly and gasping for air, crushed beneath the weight of the nightmare he had just had.

Winry leaving him, while he stayed at home, helplessly conducting petty experiments and rereading used books countless times. "Goodbye," she told him with a cold stare before slamming the door and leaving.

He shivered as he looked around the dirty, ragged tent he was sleeping in. The joint of his automail and leg throbbed painfully and so he instinctively threw his hands around it to still the pain.

He shuffled to reach the inside pocket of his trench coat, taking him only a moment to find what she sought for – a somewhat worn picture of him and Winry taken the year before, 1914, during the summer. All three of them had one. He torn it one night, because originally Alphonse was also there but Ed decided that it was inappropriate for his little brother to remain in the frame. The generous cleavage of the dress she wore had had something to do with that act of vandalism; also the way she'd wrapped her arm around Ed's neck…

He felt a slight pang of guilt as he lingered upon his devious reasons. He knew nobody else was around but still he had to look around to check nobody saw him; it was almost instinctive. He then pressed the picture to his cheek, near his lip, and rest it upon his heaving chest. He looked at it again, staring at the blue of her eyes.

"Soon," he told it as if his words could reach her from that far away. "I'll be there soon. Just for you. I promise."

* * *

"Winry, what are you doing out there?" Pinako called her granddaughter, worried that the girl might have gone bananas. She was scouting the backyard lawn as if someone had told her a hidden treasure chest was buried underneath; what worried the elder Rockbell was that this was one of the rainiest days of January she'd ever seen.

"I'm such an idiot, SUCH an idiot…" The girl kept muttering to herself, soaked to her bones and her hands as cold as ice, every inch of her covered in mud. The day was coming to an end and she still hadn't found her ring!

Pinako sighed and trudged back home when she heard the phone ring. Youngsters these days, always so dramatic.

Not two minutes later she was back outside, yelling at Winry to go inside quickly. Edward was on the phone, and he was on a hurry. As usual.

"You better get yourself dried out before you grab this phone!"

"I'll clean up later grandma, now let me talk to him!"

"Fine. But I want it squeaky clean," the old woman backed away from the phone, as if standing there would mean she might get trampled by her descendant.

"Edward?" The mechanic breathed heavily into the mouthpiece.

"Wow. You don't sound so good. How're you doing?" His voice was distorted with static; he was on an unstable line.

"Me? I'm fine! What about you? You haven't called me in forever! What's – "

A loud static sound screeched into her ears, startling her terribly. The sound of his voice came out even worse than before.

"No time to explain. I've talked to the person I was searching for. I can't wait to get back home! Also, I have an idea that – "

The line dropped.

She waited held the phone in her hand gingerly for several minutes until her grandmother approached her and took it from her hand, placing it back in its due place.

"At least you know he's fine now. Take a bath, child. You need it."

Winry threw her grandmother a vague, expressionless look before dragging herself upstairs.

As she held her breath under water, she cursed having been born a woman. _"I hate this time of the month…"_

_

* * *

_

Two days later, an odd package arrived to the Rockbell residence. Winry opened the cardboard box, which was filled with paper to protect its content. The plain white wrapping paper had a different texture than she was used to; and aside from the black ribbon tying it there was a wax crest with what seemed like a foreign symbol.

She flipped it around and she found a note: _"For Edward Elric only. Important and exclusive. Brother, please read the letter inside. Regards, Alphonse."_

What could this be…? Winry's curiosity was killing her but there was no way she could look inside. If she broke the wax crest, Edward would know.

She felt somewhat angry. There they were again, keeping more secrets from her as usual… But she didn't care, that was probably just some crappy alchemical stuff she was nowhere near interested in.

"Screw this," she cursed as she sent the package sliding on the floor; and as it disappeared underneath her closet she couldn't care less about it.

Since she had nothing much to do, she went digging for pictures she kept in a box inside her closet. The one on top, one of her favorites, had the three of them smiling vigorously at the camera. It had been a very happy summer, right before they left again for their travels to Xing and the West… She could remember how tightly she'd held on to Ed's neck, and how sheepishly he had looked when his gaze accidentally met her cleavage that afternoon. And after that, she could not fail to notice, his eyes lingered upon her figure too many times to be accidental.

The picture that came next had been taken sometime in October of 1913, a little over a year after they had completed their quest. Ed was softly combing his left hand's fingers through Den's fur, both sitting on top of the stone wall that ran along the path to the Rockbell house. He looked so peaceful and cheery, a mood that contrasted brightly against the dark colors of the sky and the stone wall, but perfectly matched the vibrant gold of some of the leaves on the ground.

Winry had always liked the last days of October. Not just because of her birthday closing in, but also because of the colors that always rule the world around her at that time, and the last leaves falling helplessly on the ground.

But now it all bothered her, because she was still single and untouched at the solid age of 20 **and** the golden leaves made her remember Ed's fierce eyes. She missed them, God… She really missed them.

So she closed her small memory box again, hiding the smiles and good memories kept in there for the time being. She was rather melancholic, so looking back at how happy she had already been only made her mood that much somber.

* * *

Today, however, she was actually kind of cheery for no good reason. She was somewhat… hyper, even. Her dull mood from last week was gone, and instead of feeling a mix of hatred and despise for her fiancé she just couldn't help but miss him terribly and daydream about kissing him when he returned. That same bubbly mood made it almost impossible for her to fall asleep, though.

So that's why she decided to bake an apple pie so late at night.

"I'm off to bed, Winry. Turn that radio down a little, child!"

Since she was feeling particularly rebellious, Winry merely decreased the volume a tiny little bit and hummed a little louder than she had been humming before, dancing alone to the sound of some late night tune.

She heard her grandmother grumble and stomp her way upstairs. The old lady wouldn't be able to hear much of the music anyway. Shortly after Winry removed the pie from the oven and placed it on the kitchen table, she sat down and just stared at the hot steam that slowly danced away from it, spreading its delicious smell all over the place. She kept humming the tune until her eyes became heavy… She wondered how Ed would taste covered in cinnamon syrup, which made her giggle. How silly! Would he taste like cinnamon but with a salty aftertaste?

Right before she fell asleep she dreamt about Edward walking into the kitchen and asking for a slice of pie, his voice a far away echo. Boy, would she give him one **nice** slice of pie when he returned…

"Winry, are you listening? Are you asleep already?" The voice sounded solid this time.

Huh? She heard a clicking sound and the music from the radio stopped. Unmatched footsteps and an odd metallic sound replaced it, snapping her wide awake back from the limbo she was in.

"Edo!" His name rolled off her tongue like honey the moment she jumped to her feet. She was intent on jumping right into his arms actually, but the sudden movement was just too much for her – instead, she fell back on her chair while lights flashed before her eyes. Her head felt like it was under extreme pressure and it bobbed around for a few seconds, before she managed to regain control and stopped it with her hands.

"Wow. Guess I shouldn't have stood up so fast, huh?" she whimpered. Then she let out a small chuckle as the world around her came into focus; looking up, her eyes met those golden ones she'd missed so badly, that color which no picture could quite capture.

"I missed you so m –" She began, but the cold stare he gave her cut her off mid-sentence.

"You didn't hear my question, did you?" His voice was just about as cold as the stare he was giving her.

Now she could see him. His jacket was ripped and torn in several places and he was partially covered in mud and water due to the raging storm outside. His hair looked dirty and lifeless, and his luggage sitting in the kitchen's entrance didn't look much better. His right hand was balled up into a fist, as if he was clutching something very tightly.

"What question?" She timidly asked.

His right fist dropped with a dry, low thud on the kitchen table. She watched as he opened his hand slowly, like he was putting an effort into that simple gesture. He then removed his hand and stuffed it inside his pocket, revealing her engagement ring.

"Oh! Where was it? How did you find it?" Her own hand reached for it automatically, and she felt so happy when the ring slid back into its proper place that she thought she might jump six feet into the air.

"Pinako told me where she found it. I called again a few days ago to tell you guys I was coming and she was the one who picked up the phone since you weren't home at the time. She found it out of sheer luck and kept it in one of the drawer of the entrance closet. If you didn't want it, you should have told me so."

Why would her grandmother do something like that?

"Wait, wait! I can explain." She jumped up from the chair, this time successfully, and grabbed him tightly by the shoulder. But he shrugged her off, picked up his luggage and made his way upstairs.

"I'm tired and I don't want to hear you out. I've been through a lot of crap lately, so all I want is to go to my bed and have a good night's sleep without having to worry about any wild animals taking my fucking tent down and sinking their **teeth** into me!"

He finished the sentence nearly yelling at the top of the staircase, not even bothering to look back at her again.

* * *

The next day, the weather hadn't improved much. It was still very clouded outside and the rain was just waiting for the best moment to pour like hell. Amazing how the weather seemed to be matching her gloomy mood. Again.

"Go talk to him. He's had a bath and I think he went back inside his room. I'm sure he was just tired last night."

Winry could barely untangle the knot in her throat to reply to her grandmother. "Why", she asked, "why didn't you just give me back the damned ring after you found it? Why tell Edward I'd tossed it out the window!"

"Because he needs to _understand_ you. And you need to understand him also, you have been **too** stressed out. Now, all you two have to do is talk."

"Bullshit." Winry chewed the word out at her grandmother before she could even help herself. She stormed out, intent on taking a long stroll outside to see if she could calm down.

Turns out Pinako was wrong. Ed wasn't in his room but near the riverbank instead, which sucked because that's exactly where Winry was headed to. She would have noticed him earlier, but she'd been staring at her feet ever since she'd stormed out of her home – as if looking into the gloomy skies would worsen her mood.

She nearly trampled him, unwarily.

"Careful, woman! I'd prefer death by wrench than a stampede." He half-mocked. But since she was in no mood for such things, she merely shifted her path and headed in a different direction, her mud-covered boots squishing and squashing constantly as she walked. However, his voice stopped her from going too far away.

"A hermit." He stated simply while staring into the restless waters of the river. She didn't know why she slowly turned back in his direction as he spoke, but it crossed her mind that they were like two magnets being pulled together by an invisible force.

"I had to go find this insane **hermit** in some far-off mountain. I swear, westerners are half-crazy. Who the hell exiles himself in some random cave in a mountain? Took me months to follow the lead to where he might be and catch his trail. Everyone said he was a wise man who'd left to meditate but if you ask me, that man was completely bonkers. His beard was so huge I bet a family of mice could have lived there."

He knew she was right behind him, listening closely to his explanation.

"That's why I was unable to call you guys often. For starters, people there have the craziest schedules! Got me a headache whenever I needed to talk to someone. _'Make an appointment',_ they'd always say."

"You were never really good at appointments. You seldom call when to need to come over for maintenance," Winry stated. She had no second intentions with that comment; it was just the simple truth, although she couldn't dissociate the irritated tone from her voice.

"Well, when I was out on the quest for Al's body, yeah, I'll admit I was a bit… Forgetful. But this time I called, or at least I tried. I talked to Granny," he said, now turning his head to briefly look at her.

Another little anger bubble popped inside Winry's head. Her grandmother didn't warn her about Ed's arrival, and on top of that she told him about the ring. But Winry didn't say anything; she merely nodded for him to proceed, lips pursed in a thin line and arms crossed over her chest.

"Anyway, for about two weeks I had to almost live inside this stupid tent right in the middle of the mountain and its unstable weather. There were tons of wild animals there. I actually got attacked a couple of times," and Ed emphasized his point by unbuttoning his shirt a little, revealing week-old scratches across his skin. Winry let out a worried groan as she outstretched her hand to touch his chest, but she stopped herself from doing it.

"The day before I found the stupid old man this big-ass wolf ripped my tent into shreds and I swear, Winry, that if I could alchemize any sort of weapon right there I would've had wolf stew for lunch. The damned thing even tried to chew my leg off, but then it decided it didn't like metal hitting its snot full-force much. Guess I taught him a lesson."

"You were _attacked_ by a _wolf_? How can you speak of it that way?" Winry squatted on the ground so she could be face-to-face with Edward, as if she needed to make sure he was okay.

"What way?" The moment she leaned a little closer to him he simply stood up, perhaps a bit faster than he should have.

"Like nothing's happened." Now she stood up as well, taking the one step necessary for them to be standing nose-to-nose – were she his height, of course. Let's just say there were sort of standing chin-to-forehead.

He took another step back. Winry couldn't say she wasn't expecting this at all, but still… It hurt a little.

"I'm sorry, Ed. About the ring. I was just… thinking stupid things." She felt rather sheepish and embarrassed, but when he said nothing she continued, "and I acted rashly, I didn't really think about what I was doing! I was gonna say I'd had a bad day, but I'm guessing your days were a lot worse than mine, right?"

"They were no walk through the park, let's put it like that. But tell me. What 'stupid things' were you thinking about?"

She hesitated before replying, even though she noticed the genuine concern in his eyes. Honestly, how could she tell him about her fears like that? She didn't want to offend him, or worry him, or sound like a desperate damsel. She'd made up her mind long ago that she would be a supporting pillar in his life, so facing the fact that she'd wavered from that decision was rather shameful for her to admit to herself and especially to him.

"It's nothing important. They're just thoughts. Silly ones. No big deal."

"Look, Winry…" He let out a sigh and he pinched the bridge of his nose, as if trying to focus. "I'm sorry for my behavior last night. But I was so tired! And I don't know, I guess I was over thinking about the ring. I didn't even ask you if you'd done it on purpose or not, or **why** you'd done it. You must have had a good reason for that I guess."

This time he took another step, but not to back away from her. He took the step **towards** her. "Because I know how you feel. It it isn't easy to wait for me… I have to wait to see you, too."

She was struck by that familiar sensation of having no more air in the Planet to breathe.

"You can tell me your worries, you know? You **should** tell me. There shouldn't be any more secrets between us, right?" He insisted. The way he'd said that, with such a sweet voice and that cute blush… Oh my Goodness… She felt a little woozy under his stare and it took her a second to realize his hands were holding hers. Oh no. She felt like a thousand crazy butterflies were flapping about inside her and were about to lift her off the ground. She didn't know which one of them was about to kiss the other, but the fact is that both of them leaned in and then…

KA-BOOM, went the thunder somewhere really close by. Instead of kissing him she jumped, startled, and hit his nose with her forehead.

"Owwww! Whoah!"

She made him lose his balance and both of them fell on the ground. Well, Edward did; Winry just toppled right on top of him.

"Damn! Your elbow, I can't breathe!" He complained. She tried to sit up straight and wound up kneeing that especially sensitive area boys have. Obviously she was startled, particularly after that painful sound that came out of his throat.

"Oh no! Edward, I'm so sorry! So so sorry!"

He rolled on the ground for like half a minute while clutching his injured body parts, swearing and cursing, before he managed to stand up.

"Shitshitshit…" He wheezed, "don't you want to have kids some day, woman?"

"I said I was sorry!..." She replied, her hands covering her mouth because she was also trying not to laugh. But…

They both stood looking at each other awkwardly, red as ripe tomatoes after realizing his implications.

He just couldn't help saying something stupid. "What? Don't tell me you don't know where babies come from?"

"Edo! There's no need to be rude!" She squeaked, embarrassed, both hands now covering the rest of her face.

He was just about to try and laugh it off, when another thunder clapped in a hideously high volume. Winry looked as pale as a ghost, being as terrified of thunder as she was; especially of one so nearby.

And all of a sudden, without any warning, water started to pour heavily from the skies. The rain was so intense it almost looked like the clouds had each single-handedly chugged down a whole six-pack.

They both tried running back home as fast as they could, but by the time they reached the porch they were both so soaked they could just flood the entire house.

"You know what…?" Edward gasped out while trying to regain his breath, "I've learnt a valuable lesson."

"What?" she asked, equally as out of breath.

"If I try to be romantic you'll neuter me."

She was tired, yes, but not so tired that she couldn't maul him to death with a vase.

After they'd had a nice warm bath and dried off the floor and furniture (Pinako commanded there be no traces of water or mud inside the house), it was almost time to start making lunch. Winry made her way to the kitchen and Ed turned on the radio and sat on the couch, munching on a slice of last night's pie. Delicious, as usual.

He wanted another slice but she didn't let him – told him it would ruin his appetite.

After lunch and cleaning up the kitchen, Winry had to attend to a customer. While Ed waited for her to finish the appointment, he went back into his room to look through his notebook and tried to call Alphonse, but the Xingese man who picked up the phone wouldn't shut up for three minutes until Ed got pissed off and abruptly ended the call.

Honestly now, if he only says "Alphonse. Alphonse Elric! A-L-P-H-O-N-S-E please!" and blabbers something else in a foreign language, why does the person who's on the other side of the line even _bother_ trying to explain anything at all?

So he was in a bit of a sour mood by the time his own maintenance check began.

"Can I see your scratches?" Winry asked before they began. Ed was already lying down on the work table, only in boxers and a sweater.

"Here's some," he said pointing at his thigh and shin. "See the teeth mark? Ow, and the mosquito bites…"

"I meant the ones on your torso."

"Oh. Now you want me to take my top off? What happened to the _"I'm just working on your leg"_ thing?"

"Oh, forget it! You're such a child sometimes," she spat out, a little embarrassed about whatever he might be implying.

He was about to tease her a bit more, but then he noticed how she silently inspected his leg and how angrier her expression got with each centimeter she looked at.

"Ed. This is half-broken," she deadpanned. "And full of sand and gravel."

"I might have fallen off a slightly rocky cliff," he said. "But it was a short fall. No big deal!" he had to add when she threw an alarmed look in his direction.

"This is full of scratches! And this almost looks like teeth marks… A bear?" Her voice now matched the distressed look she had stamped on her face.

"It was that big wolf I told you about. Honestly, it was really **big**."

"…And this?" She asked weakly while pointing at a dent in the side of the automail.

He was almost afraid to answer, but he did nonetheless. "Uhh. Some idiot tried to shoot me." He cleared his throat then, anxiously awaiting her reaction. Aside from a forlorn sigh, there was none. "Look, Winry… I got into a few messed up situations, but I promise I'm really – "

"It's okay. I need to take your leg off for a few hours, maybe until tomorrow. But I'll fix this pronto. Meanwhile you can use a spare."

He was surprised. She sounded determined, secure. Not hysterical, mad, or otherwise. Just… calm.

"Okay," he merely muttered in reply. He watched her as she disconnected his nerves from the automail. And, as it had happened many times already, he found himself _admiring_ her; not just watching her work, but actually looking at _her_. Her strong firm hands handled the metallic tools perfectly, as if she'd been born with a wrench on one hand and a screwdriver on the other. He couldn't help it. Her hands were connected to her arms, shapely and slender, hidden under her carefully rolled up shirt. Those arms of hers were, in turn, connected to her shoulders; her shoulders to her neck; to her collarbone perfectly visible through the unbuttoned shirt.

Many times he just imagined he was kissing her from her hands to her collarbone. That which lay beyond that line, well… This time he tried to focus on that single short path, not daring to let his imagination flutter towards other, more dangerous areas. He shut his eyes then, so he couldn't get even more distracted. Instead, he tried to remember the flowery pattern of the apron she was wearing.

"I'm going to get you a spare now. You can sit up, okay?" she told him after she disconnected his leg.

So he stood up, but he almost wished he hadn't. Why did she have to wear jeans that tight?

… And why on earth did she have to lean forward that much? That took him a few years back. The moment he realized he actually had those feelings for her – and had no idea whatsoever what to do with them, too. And the moment he realized she wasn't just his scrawny neighbor/friend/mechanic anymore, but a woman with all of the right bits and pieces.

Bits and pieces that _bounced_ and _wiggled _faithfully with her every move, with what seemed to be a will of their own, as if screaming for attention. And attention he did pay…

Winry, of course, was not unaware of his anatomical studies. She didn't mind that at all; actually, she loved feeling his gaze chase her around the room and pretending not to notice anything.

Especially after he and Alphonse returned with their bodies; Edward's behavior clearly changed towards her. She caught him staring at her sometimes, whereas Alphonse never looked at her in the same fashion. Quite a few awkward situations happened between the two of them during that period of time. Every time she thought about it, of course, she giggled.

At the same time, she felt there was a tension building up somehow. Of course she also took whatever chance she could to admire him. After all, he used to be such a small and skinny kid and now look at his broad shoulders and muscled arms… Anyway. We all know what happens when a lot of tension builds up. Even though she tries not to give those thoughts much importance, the truth is she can't actually avoid them either.

And even though she was partially furious at him for getting hurt so badly she was also relieved that he was back in one piece. As usual. She thought these kinds of things would stop after he got his body back but oh well... She'd just have to get used to seeing him with some bruises and scratches again.

"There you go. All settled," she said somewhat cheerfully as she attached the spare to his leg, patting him on the thigh after her work was done.

"Thank you, Winry-san!" He replied happily, standing somewhat gingerly on that leg which he was not used to.

"Sure, sure. Now scoot along and do whatever it is you do while I'm working on your leg, alright?"

But he didn't leave. He was having somewhat of an inner struggle with his feelings, which were still so hard to admit. And after a few months absence, returning home to find her not wearing the engagement ring made his confidence kind of drop a few notches. But he was still very sure of **his** own feelings, even though he'd neglected calling her these past five months – he just needed to make sure hers had remained the same.

So he just stood there looking at her, that familiar cocky smile stamped across his face. She was about to ask him what he was smiling about when he suddenly outstretched his hands and pulled her into an embrace, pressing her tightly against him.

"Thank you. For being here for me and supporting me as always. You know…" He loosened his hold on her and placed his hands over her shoulders so he could take a good look at her, "They _do_ say that behind a great man stands a great woman. Thanks for making me stand, Winry. But mostly, thanks for making me great."

And with those words and a light kiss to her forehead, he left her barely able to breathe. _"One day,"_ she thought to herself after her brain regained its normal functions, _"I'll melt straight into his skin..."_

_

* * *

_

The next morning his leg was all fixed and as good as new, just as Winry promised. And as always, the connection of the automail leg with his own body was painful, but he dealt with it best he could.

She let him rest a little afterwards before she took her chance to try and have a talk with him. They were, after all, alone inside his room. Her grandmother was downstairs in the basement.

"So, Edward. Yesterday you said we shouldn't keep secrets, right?"

"Right. So you're gonna tell me what were you thinking when you "lost" the ring I gave you?"

She looked a little flustered for a moment, but regained her cool pretty quickly "No, that's not it! I already told you that was nothing. I meant… About a package you got last week. Al sent it to you, from Xing."

"A package… What did it say?"

"It said something like it was for you only, important and exclusive."

Ed suddenly remembered something very, very important and leapt from his bed. "Did you open the package?" he asked nervously.

"Er… No…"

"Well, where is it?"

"In my room. But why is it so important? Hey, wait!" She followed him as he went to her room in a quick pace. He looked around for a while, but stopped looking when he noticed a pair of her underwear hanging on the door of her closet.

"Er. Winry. Could you please tell me _where_ said package is?" He diverted his look to the ceiling, because he could almost swear he'd seen lace.

"You'd better tell me what's so important about that package, then."

"Look… It's no big deal. Just something I need to take with me when I leave again, okay?"

Wait. She felt as if she'd entered inside one large freezer. He was leaving again. Of course, they didn't talk about how long he was staying last night because she was working on his leg during most of the dinner, so she hadn't quite thought about it yet.

"How… How long are you going to be away this time?"

"I'm not sure. Probably a few more months because I still need to –"

"Exactly **how** long? How many months?" She repeated louder this time, in a fierce growl.

"I don't know. Maybe three, maybe four, maybe six months, maybe more! How'm I supposed to know that, Win?"

"And just how long were you planning on staying here this time?"

"Only long enough for the repair. Maybe two or three more days. I'm in a big hurry."

"…So you only came here to get your leg repaired," she stated flatly.

"That's not what I said…"

She stood there looking at him in silence. She needed those seconds to understand what was going on exactly. Why hadn't she predicted that, how didn't she just see that coming? Why did it hurt **so** badly…? And just like that, all of a sudden, she was in a foul mood again.

She fished the package from beneath the closet and threw it at him. "Here. I hope you choke on that! Now get out of my room."

The order was followed by the action of her pushing him out the door and slamming it on his face.

"Argh! Fine, you, you… _Hormonal_ little thing!"

"Screw you!" was her answer from the other side of the door.

Edward stormed back inside his room and sunk into his bed. Rain had started to hit the window of his bedroom, trickling random paths along the glass because it had nothing better to do. After about ten minutes he felt calm enough to open the package and check if it was, indeed, what he thought it was. There was a letter inside.

"_Dear brother,_

_This may look a little odd, as I had already told you before. But the Xingese are very proud of these sorts of books and cherish them very much. Since I'm concerned about your happiness and Winry's, I thought it might not be such a bad idea to send it to you. I had an acquaintance translate this into Amestrian and he worked really hard to print it in time for you to prepare yourself for your wedding. There's a second book, like some sort of compendium, but… Well, best not talk about that one. Make good use of this one!_

_Just so you know, I haven't read any of those books (yet)!_

_Moving along, __I hope everything else is going along well. I have learnt quite a few good things here, and the extra sheets of paper I have sent you are merely a sum of some of the knowledge I got here. Read my notes carefully. I miss everybody, can't wait for the wedding!_

_Regards from your brother, Alphonse."_

Edward shook his head slightly at Al's mention of the wedding. When would he finally have the time for that?

He folded the letter carefully and his eyes shifted between Al's notes, which were manuscript sheets of paper bound by string, and a leathery black book. He opened the latter.

Shortly after he offered Winry the engagement ring Ed had talked to his brother, and he had said something about sending over a book from Xing so Ed could study it. When Ed asked what the book was about, Al replied something along the lines "Let's just say it's to teach you how to love".

Al's words confused him at the time and almost started a telephonic squabble between the two Elrics. Now that he opened the first page and read the title, "LOVE DETAILS, For Beginners", he understood what his brother had meant.

Right beneath the title, in Al's handwriting, could be read _"Because there are thousands of things in this world we still need to learn, and this is no less important than anything else."_

He woke up later that day with Pinako calling him for dinner. She startled him, too, because he thought the book might still be in his hand. However, he'd had the sense of hiding it beneath his pillow right before he fell asleep.

He still couldn't quite cope with the idea that his brother had sent him a book on how to make love. Granted, the Xingese culture was much more open-minded about sex, even though they still held quite the high moral standards about it. But they just didn't see it as a taboo, but rather like something beautiful worth sharing with someone you love. His afternoon reading had taught him that and much, much more.

Like how he should try to keep the woman calm before her first time having intercourse, because that relieved the pain she would feel and should make the experience much more pleasant…

Needless to say that each time he read one or two lines of that book he blushed like an idiot and felt really embarrassed even though he was all alone in his room.

"_I'll get you for this, Alphonse!"_ he thought to himself as he stashed the book somewhere hopefully safe and trudged downstairs to have dinner. Although, he should have to admit, this **would** come in handy. He had no idea of what to do if he and Winry ever got to the point of… Bed. Which, he hoped, wouldn't take long.

"Were you reading all day, Edward?" Pinako asked, tilting her head sideways quizzically. "Always the bookworm, you," she added in teasingly.

"Yeah, Al sent me some notes I needed to see." He half-lied while he filled up his plate with mashed potatoes and fish filets and ignored Pinako's remark, "Plus the weather's terrible outside so there's not much to do."

"They're very important notes, Granny. Notes nobody else can see because they're top-secret," Winry added in bitterly, scooping up unnecessarily large amounts of mashed potatoes into her plate and covering them in gravy until they were brown instead of white-ish.

"They _are_. Look, what Al meant in the note was that _other_ alchemists aren't supposed to see the notes. They're just for me. You, on the other hand, can read the whole thing if you like," he replied while chewing.

"No thanks. I'm not interested in geeky alchemist stuff," she huffed as she took another shrimp roll from the casserole.

"But you should be interested on how much you're eating. I mean, look how full your plate is! Do you wanna get fat?" He mocked to try to lighten the mood, but this time it didn't work. He regretted saying that almost immediately.

"Who cares if I'm getting fat or not!" She yelled, hitting her fist so hard on the table she spilt her glass of water. "Because at this pace, I'll only get married after I turn thirty or something like that, right?"

She glared at him furiously before she left the dinner table and stomped her way upstairs, leaving her dinner plate untouched.

Pinako and Edward just sat there awkwardly, pretending that nothing had happened. But after they both finished eating, the elder woman said, "You should talk to her."

"… I don't know what to say, Granny. I really don't. I don't know what to **do**," he sounded a bit overwhelmed.

"Well," she said as she opened a window and lit her pipe, "Tell her how you feel."

"I'm no good at that."

"I'm sure you'll think of something." she said, releasing a large puff of smoke from her pipe in the direction of the window, so the smoke wafted outside in an indistinct pattern.

She left the kitchen and headed downstairs, the smoke from her pipe billowing behind her.

While he did the dishes he had some time to think… And ten minutes later he was knocking on Winry's bedroom door.

"Go away, Edward."

"I need to talk to you. Please?"

"No. Go away."

"Look, Winry, I'm really sorry. Okay? I know I was an idiot. But I really want to talk to you!"

"And I really **don't** want to talk to you. Now go away!" She insisted, and Ed heard the sound of something hitting wood – probably her fist on the bed frame.

She was stubborn; but he was even more stubborn and he had his heart set on talking and apologizing to her. So he just opened the door and walked in, sitting on her bed with a look that clearly said _"I'm not leaving until we get this done with."_

She was already in her pajamas and under her sheets, so to say that she was annoyed is understating it.

"Can't you just leave me alone please?" She whined.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I can't do it. Look, I promised myself something some time ago. I promised I'd try my best to make you happy, and that's exactly why I need to talk to you," he said while looking into her sapphire eyes, "Because I can tell you're anything but happy."

Fine, she gave in. If he wanted to talk she could tell him a thing or two.

"I just can' get it, Edward. You ask me to give you half my life, I'll even give you much more… Then we make a commitment, we talk about marriage, and then you're always coming and going, out for months at a time, home for days only! I…" She sighed nervously and clutched her sheets as tight as she could. She should be used to waiting for him, but somehow she couldn't help feeling this way. Helpless and alone.

"I don't think I can live like that." She finished after a few moments. The words stung both her tongue and her heart, but that was just how she felt about what future they may have. No matter how much it hurt her to say it – she just had to.

This also made his heart sink. He knew he couldn't simply spend his whole life trotting the world, taking his time to explore its exceeding vastness. He couldn't because it was too cruel to ask her to constantly wait for him; and it was also hard on him, because he would always miss her. Even though he had the advantage of knowing her to be safe, at home in Risembool. But he hated just sitting around on his ass doing nothing there… He was unable to stand still for long.

"I know… and I'm sorry to put you through this kind of stuff. I just wish…"

What did he wish for? What would solve his problem, and set things straight? He'd never be like other guys, who settled in a town with one job and a family to take care of. Not for long, at least. But he also didn't want to stay away from her for long. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he **wanted** to desperately be with her.

So he had an idea. It had been crossing his mind for a while now, almost teasing him. And he was too afraid to ask her, afraid of a denial. But if he didn't take that chance, most likely they'd never talk about it and end up even more frustrated…

"Look. We didn't exactly make any tangible plans, and I'm not sure if we can because… Things right now aren't really settled yet, right?"

He paused and looked at her – if he could read her eyes, he'd read about how much she wished things **would** settle.

"Listen. I'm not sure if what I'm investigating at this moment will take me a few more weeks, or months, or more… I can't be sure. It's a matter of luck. And you know how I'm used to travelling, right? It's not just about learning, it's also the thrill of discovering new places, new cultures!"

She winced at the thought that crossed her mind automatically, _"New people, new women."_

And as if on cue, he took one of her hands and held it within his own. "But lately I'd like to have some company in my travels. Travelling with Al was great, because we're brothers and we're after the same thing. But now that we're so far apart… It makes me wonder. I've been going about alone for nine months. Maybe some company wouldn't be half bad."

His words now made her heart pound a little harder, with both uncertainty and expectation.

"What do you mean, Ed?"

"Come with me!" He said, "You can come and see the world with me, at least for a while! I'd love to have you with me. Imagine all the things that await us out there. There's so much we don't know about in this world, thousands of things actually… We could… learn some of them together."

"You… Don't think I'd be a burden?" She asked, taken completely by surprise by his proposition.

"No, of course not, no! Look, there are **so** many places that I've been to that I just thought, 'Man, if only Winry could see this'. This could be your chance right here. **Our** chance. You wouldn't get in the way at all! Mostly what I need to do is scout some libraries and talk to a person – and this one's not an isolated, batty hermit in a hard-to-reach mountain."

He looked seriously excited about it. But there were too many things holding her back, like her grandmother and her customers…

"I don't know, Edward. I'd need to talk to Granny first."

"We'll talk to her. But I'm sure she won't mind. You can't just be cooped up inside one place forever, can you? Don't you want to see what else is out there?"

Her answer was, of course, yes. But she couldn't just throw herself into an adventure randomly. Could she?

"We'll go to Central first," he said.

"Central? What for? Do we need to switch to another train there?"

"Yes, but..." he hesitated. Another thought had crossed his mind, yes, but he was too afraid to voice it out – for now. Maybe when the right time came. Too bad he had absolutely no idea when that would be. "Yeah, that's basically it. Changing trains. But, uh, if you like we can visit someone… Like Mrs. Hughes."

"Really?" Her eyes widened at the suggestion and her mouth stretched out into a wide smile. The idea of visiting Gracia and Elysia was, alone, enough to tempt her into going to Central at least.

Wow. This was kind of surprising, him asking her to actually **travel** with him… It was actually very _romantic_. And she would most likely go, too - because he's holding onto her heart, and she can't stand being parted from him for too long again so soon. If her heart would leave, she'd follow with.

"So, what do you say?"

"I'm not sure yet, but… I think I'll say yes!"

"That's not very reassuring, Winry." He sulked a little, his brows coming together tightly as he made a face.

"At least I've proven your theory wrong," she chirped happily.

"What theory?"

"Well," she said as she quickly embraced him and stood up, set on speaking to her grandmother about this, "You were being romantic right now and I didn't even attempt to neuter you, right?"

* * *

A few **author's notes** are required by the end of this chapter.

First of all the word **saudade**, the title of the chapter. It's portuguse, and it means that you **really miss someone** which you haven't seen for a while, or that you miss something you haven't done or seen or ate for some time. Kind of like being nostalgic about something, I guess. Winry always missed Ed when he travels and I'm pretty sure he misses her now more than ever in his life, hence saudade is a good way to describe how they feel at this point in their lives. They have _saudades _of each other, meaning, they miss each other...

Also, I'm setting this at 1914/1915. Why? Because of some sort of sketchy timeline Arakawa gave us to work with. Trisha died in 1904. Ed was about 9 years old. If during the Promised Day he was about 17 _(or nearly - remember when he met Ling, he was almost 16, according to Winry's comment during the train ride with Ling and his Xingese crew) _that will set us in 1912, and that means he was 19 (or nearly) by the end of the manga (when he left to travel)_ - ergo_, 1914... Give or take a year.

* * *

_**" All I ever wanted was for you to know,**_

_**Everything I do I give my heart and soul.**_

_**I can hardly breathe - I need to feel you here with me ! "**_

_- Avril Lavigne, "When You're Gone"_**  
**

Please review. Fourth chapter already halfway through... ;)


	4. Fever, 'till you sizzle!

Sorry for the unacceptable delay on this chapter, but I can't really manage to do much more than I'm currently doing... I had this written out for a while now but hadn't quite figured some bits of it yet. I wound up deciding on, well, going down this particular direction and I hope I won't regret it. 'Twas fun to write, any way. :D

BEWARE: I've changed the fic's rating from T to M because of this chapter. I'm sorry if anyone's uncomfortable with it, but I like my EdxWin hot and spicy. ;D

Also, PLEASE let me know if it's simply too large, because I feel like I've unwillingly written two chapters into one. Lol.

* * *

_**"Never knew how much I love you,**_

_**never knew how much I care****;**_

_**Wh****en you put your arms around me,**_

_**I get**** a fever that's so hard to bear.**_

_**You give me fever, when you kiss ****me – fever when you hold me tight;**_

_**Fever****, in the morning, fever all through the night."**_

_- Ray Charles ft. Natalie Cole, "Fever"_

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR: **Fever, ´till you sizzle!

* * *

Winry had been sleeping for a few hours already. It was close to dinnertime, and if the night wasn't dark already the somber weather didn't make it any lighter. No moon to be spotted in the heavens and no stars either.

The definition of dark.

Every now and then Edward looked around tensely; to Winry, to check if she was still asleep and to the other passengers to see if they were looking at his book. He hadn't wasted a single minute – as soon as Winry fell asleep on the bench he took the black book from the enormous inside pocket of his (new) trench coat and continued devouring its content, even though he felt a little tired.

The train had left Risembool very early that morning so they had barely had any sleep at all.

Pinako was apparently fine with the whole thing, "It's your life, Winry. I think it's good that you go on about and see what's out there to be seen. But you'd better keep her safe, Edward. Or else…"

He shuddered a little. If only Pinako knew of his other intentions. She'd probably _kill_ him right in the spot with that smoking pipe of hers – Ed bet that would _definitely_ hurt. But what could you expect? They were both 20 years old already… They weren't exactly kids anymore.

He looked at his mechanic once more, peeking from over his book. She looked so peaceful sleeping like that…

And all of a sudden she wasn't sleeping anymore, but screaming in surprise as the train hit the brakes violently and Edward fell heavily on top of her, book flying off his hand and landing beneath someone else's seat. Lucky for her, Ed was rather soft. Unluckily for Edward, one of the suitcases that fell on his back was rather _hard_.

Cries of surprise and angry screams filled the cabin entirely. But when the lights went out those cries were replaced by tense whispers.

"Ed," Winry spoke nervously, sleep still in her eyes. "What is going on…?"

"I don't freaking know," he spat, rubbing his aching shoulder. "Wait here," he told her, as he fished inside his pocket. He found what he wanted: a matchbox. He lit a match.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked out loud. He heard a lot of affirmative answers and one grumpy person who told him to look up the definition of 'okay' on the dictionary. What a smart-ass.

He lay down on the floor between his seat and the next to see if he could find his book, but he didn't manage to do it before the match went out. So he lit up another.

"Ed… What are you doing?" Winry asked.

"Looking for something I dropped," he replied.

"Shouldn't we ask for help?" Winry asked again nervously after a couple of minutes and Ed's sixth match in a row.

Shortly afterwards someone came inside the cabin with a night lamp in his hand, "Is anyone here injured?" The man asked.

"We are sorry for the inconvenience," he proceeded after everyone said to be okay, "But we had a major problem. The storm knocked down a few trees which cut off the railroad ahead of us, and also affected the train's power supply. So we will have to ask you all to take your indispensable belongings with you and follow the other security guards down the trail to the train station. It is only two minutes away on foot."

Everyone started complaining and some people actually yelled at the poor man, who had to apologize a million times over for something he wasn't to blame for.

"Please, everyone remain calm. Just collect your belongings and leave whatever may be unnecessary behind. The rest of your luggage will be kept entirely safe! In a matter of minutes more security guards with lamps will be arriving to escort you all to the station," he continued to speak above the hubbub, as the crowd of angry people in the cabin kept on cursing the bad weather and the instability of the power lines in that area.

"Ed, didn't you hear him? We need to get our stuff, come on!" Winry told him as she started looking for one of her travel bags, a water-proof one.

"Got it!" He exclaimed triumphantly as he managed to retrieve the book from beneath a seat two rows away, much for the annoyance of the respective passengers.

"Are those Al's notes?" Winry asked, picking up her bag and checking if she had everything she needed inside.

"Uh. Yeah, yeah. They are," he replied as he hastily stuffed the book back inside his pocket, "And I sure don't wanna lose them. Here, take these," he handed the matchbox over to her.

Took them only about 15 minutes to find a hotel in that town, and by the time they did they were both soggy like biscuits in a milk cup. Ed, of course, was famished.

"I'd like a room, please, just for tonight," he told the man behind the counter. Then he remembered he was with Winry. "Errr, I mean **two** rooms please," he corrected himself nervously.

Winry almost wished he hadn't corrected himself – her heart did a somersault when he asked for only one room – but, of course, she wouldn't say anything. It was inappropriate, almost, for her to think things such as them sleeping in the same room, no matter how badly she wanted to. However, she found herself wondering if Ed shared the same desires. Sure, he had somehow properly proposed; sure, he had kissed her, months ago; and yes, he had invited her to travel with him for a while. But what did that **mean**? What were his feelings, exactly?

She mused over this for a while, oblivious to the conversation between the object of her affections and the hotel's receptionist.

"Rooms 83 and 85, third floor to your left. Here's the keys. And if you want the money back from the train company, you should write a complaint here," the employee gestured at a large book that sat on a desk behind him; obviously they weren't the first guests in the hotel that had come running from the train. They certainly weren't the last ones, because a long line started to form at the reception.

"Thank you," Ed replied, picking the keys up. "Maybe after dinner. How much is it…?"

Only a few minutes later they reached the doors to their hotel rooms. Ed struggled a little with the key before he gingerly opened the door to the room he would be sleeping in. Winry opened her room too and inspected the interior after she put her luggage down on the floor; she noticed there was a door ajar, a private bathroom!

"Quick shower, then dinner?" She asked standing at his door while he put his own stuff down, glad to find out that she could take a peaceful bath to relax her sore muscles. She hurt all over, not only from the long train trip but also because of how long she had to run with the luggage in her hand under the rain, no matter how small it was.

"Sure. Meet you out in the hall in a few."

The food at that hotel was surprisingly nice – as usual, Edward devoured it with ferocious appetite, earning one or two patronizing glares from Winry, which he obviously ignored.

And after their late dinner – it was half past ten – they sat sheepishly at their table for a while, both silently lingering on _what_ to do after they got up from the table. The town didn't seem like it hosted many places to have fun in; but even if it did, none of them was really quite used to going out to bars and such, especially not the two of them alone. So…

"What do you wanna do now?" Edward asked, trying not to sound eager or anything of the sorts.

"Well…" she spoke uncertainly, "I'm a little tired, so I don't know. I haven't even brought a book with me or anything. I'll have to buy one tomorrow."

"I'm tired too. Maybe we should just head off to our rooms and get a good night's sleep. The train's leaving at six A.M., so we'll be arriving at Central at about ten in the morning, if all goes well."

"Ugh, I hate long trips… How did I let you convince me into doing this?" she groaned mockingly, punching his left arm lightly as they walked over to the elevator that would carry them all the way up to their room.

"Maybe it's my pretty hair or my long eyelashes. What do _you_ think?" His reply earned him a good pinch at his belly, to which he replied with an exaggerated "Ouch!"

They arrived at their respective chambers; truthfully, they didn't really want to part. But what was there to do or say? If he invited her to his room, that would just sound wrong, and he certainly didn't want to give her the wrong impression (or so he figured).

"So… Goodnight, then." He said softly, almost in defeat – even though he did not want to show it to her.

"Goodnight. See you in the morning, Edo."

* * *

She gently closed the door of her room and leaned her forehead against it, sighing longingly against the hard wood. They were so close, she thought, and technically _alone_ – neither Alphonse nor Granny were anywhere near them to check on whatever it was that they may be doing. She had just a _small_ flicker of hope that he might just invite her over to his room, at least to talk for a while. But he was clueless as usual… At least nowadays she knew he had feelings for her. But she couldn't help wondering just how intense those were.

Her heart ached when she missed him; and, at night, the dreams in which he visited her bedroom made her wake up covered in sweat and other types of moisture, and feeling slightly guilty. But could she really blame her body for wanting to physically be with him? She had long ago accepted her love for him, when she was much younger. And after a certain point she **clearly** realized she wasn't just facing a crush, or a platonic love for that matter, regarding her childhood best friend.

Tonight was just going to be another one of those lonely nights, she guessed. Either Edward or Fate itself would have to make a move, because she didn't quite feel like it was appropriate for her to do so. Or worst, she'd really have to wait to get married. She was never a very traditionalist girl, and she'd never thought Ed would really be the type to wait for a mere formalism to get to something he really wanted.

For example, she remembers them being very young and Edward, at that age – already having his fierce stubbornness and rashness that characterize him until this day –, did not hesitate to put a chocolate in his mouth with the wrapping paper and all, simply because he couldn't unwrap it. Needless to say both their mothers panicked, but in the end, even after being told off, he still demanded that a chocolate be given to him – and that he be taught how to unwrap it properly.

She laughed inwardly at the memory.

But maybe he **was** that sort of person. Or maybe… just maybe… he was just waiting for her to say so. Could that be? Was he **that** much of a gentleman? They had already _slipped_ a few months ago on his first trip back to Risembool, when he gave her the ring. They'd given in to their shaky passion and kissed a little too far, they'd brought their bodies just a _little_ too close together. But their general lack of experience in that area had been a problem at the time – and it probably still is.

But here's the catch: if they **don't** do it, they'll never be experienced enough to feel comfortable about it anyway. _"I suppose these things take practice…"_ she sighed, unable to control the heat that came flowing up to settle on her cheeks.

Then she decided it was about time to quit her musings and go to bed because, after all, she'd have to wake up early in the morning.

She removed her shoes right near the door and turned the lights on, eyes still closed with slight drowsiness. So she failed to see what she was stepping into…

* * *

Meanwhile, Edward was dealing with his frustrations in his own way. He lay in the darkness, eyes shut tight and left hand expertly working its way through to his delight. He just hadn't been able to help himself from fantasizing about his fiancée, as he had done several times before already during the past few years. Of course, presented with such an opportunity – being "alone" in a hotel with her, albeit not in the same room – his mind could basically do nothing else but picture a hundred different _hot_ scenarios in which they'd finally, invariably succumb to each other.

He fantasized, even though he knew each and every single one of those situations was impossible to happen, at least not anytime soon. Plus, he'd never dare make such a move on her. First of all, he was still too unsure of what to do (because even if the book his brother sent him **did** consist on excellent literacy about the action of intercourse itself, it did not present any solution as **how** to lead a woman into **that** kind of situation); and second, he wasn't sure if she even _wanted_ it or not. Heck, he doubted she was half the pervert he was. She probably had no clue as to what intercourse itself was – unlike him, who was so full of blissful information which he really, really wanted to teach her **badly**.

On the other hand, she's been reading anatomy books for as long as, well, for as long as she's been able to read, almost. So she's not completely ignorant when it came to that department.

So, a dilemma… he couldn't make his move until either she told him to, or after they got married (because marriage basically implied sex; heck, the honeymoon was every guy's consolation prize).

But that wouldn't stop him from giving in to his desires, oh no. He'd take care of those matters in his own hands – _literally_.

He pictured her in dressed up ways he was usually too ashamed to admit he liked; however now, as his hand's experienced movements rode him far off into his erotic fantasy, lust overshadowed all his logic and rationality and not a thread of conscience seemed to be left in that small corner of his mind. He could only _feel_, and he could only _imagine_… A low moan escaped his lips as his fantasy escalated, accompanied by the tightening of the grip of his hand around himself. He was no longer simply staring at Winry in lesser garments, but he was actually _inside_ her; he could picture her warm skin covered in sweat, both his and hers, and shaking with every single one of his thrusts.

As the images flowed inside his head, so did something else in his nether region. Faster, hotter, stronger… He could actually swear that she was in bed with him, so strong were the feelings.

Of course, while giving in to his primal instincts, all other sensations that didn't involve touch were substantially dimmed. That small fact prevented him from hearing the small ruckus in the room adjacent to his… Until he heard a distinct, dry knock on his door and Winry calling out for him.

His hand stopped in mid-motion.

_Holy mother of __**crap**__…_

"Ed, you awake? I've got sort of a problem here…"

Oh yeah. You think _you're_ in trouble…

"I'm awake! I-I'll go get the door, w-wait up!" His voice came out edgy and nervous, plus he was really irritated that his fantasy had been so suddenly, rudely interrupted.

If only she were interrupting his reverie to continue what his hand had started… Nah! He never had any luck with his wishes. If he wants something done he can't sit and wait for others to do it, he has to go do it himself.

But right now, silly fantasies aside, he was in a _sticky_ situation. That bulge of his wasn't going away anytime soon, so how was he supposed to get up and open the door to talk to her? If she wanted to come inside she'd see _**it**_!

She would surely figure out what was going on and crack his head open in a fit of rage. He'd most likely die out of embarrassment before he bled to death, anyway… What a short-lived life!

"No need to, I think the door's open. I'm coming in."

Her words froze him on the spot. He didn't know what to do, and he felt like he was about to go through the greatest humiliation of his oh-so-short adult life. He felt heat prickle his cheeks, probably tainting them red even before Winry managed to flip the lights on.

Someone at the back of Ed's mind shouted at him to tell her to sod off, but somehow he couldn't even manage to open his mouth to formulate those words.

Her eyes quickly fell on him as she threw the door of his room ajar. She thought he looked strange, sitting on the bed with his knees bent up to his chest, under the hotel's white sheets and dull brown bed cover.

He was, of course, trying to look casual and/or sleepy, whichever worked best; but there was a glint of something in his face that caught her a tad unaware. However, she couldn't pinpoint what it was…

"What's up?" He managed to gush out, still a little breathless and agitated from his previous actions. Automatically he cringed at the unintentional pun behind his words (and underneath the sheets).

"Ummm… well…" She didn't know where to begin. So she sighed, shutting the door behind her and taking a seat in the single chair that stood there, dropping her dry, water-proof backpack on top of the commode nearby – basically the only pieces of furniture that the small room possessed.

He noticed, quite startled, that she had a pillow under her arm.

"See, I went into my room and… and it took me a while to notice it, because I was, er, _distracted_ with something, but… a pipe burst in the bathroom and it's all flooded. Or half-flooded, really. But the problem is, I can't really sleep in that room anymore. And the hotel valet can't get me another one because they're booked with everyone that came in because of the tree that cut off the rails, so…" Her voice dropped when she noticed the look of disbelief stamped across his face.

She'd been pissed because of what had happened, of course. It was late and she desperately needed to sleep, so she had asked for another room. There was none, they'd replied. **Make** me one, she'd snarled back, her patience finally snapping. But then… it crossed her mind that it was an actually _good_ excuse to be in the same room as Edward. So she had quickly changed her behavior and lightly waved the problem off, "Stuff like this happens I suppose! I'll just stay in my… _brother's_ room."

The valet had been surprised about her change of behavior, but he still offered up to repay for the rooms. And get them a couch.

She didn't tell Edward about this detail, of course. But he didn't need to know either.

"So… You're gonna have to bunk here?" He asked incredulously, after a few moments of dead silence.

"If you don't mind. I mean…" she still tried to sound like sleeping in his room was something she would have avoided if she could. "I don't see much of a solution here."

Ed **did** see another solution. They could drag the mattress from her room and place it on the floor in his room, where he could sleep. He was also sure Winry could picture this possibility perfectly, but for _some_ reason she chose not to speak of it.

So he'd not speak of it, either.

"… In **my** bed?" He asked again rather sheepishly, feeling his blush intensify. He just wanted to make sure, of course, of what her intentions were. But without presenting her the possibility of sleeping anywhere except from next to him.

To her, he looked unsure and positively taken aback with the idea. _"Oh no,"_ Winry thought bitterly, _"maybe he won't do it… maybe he'll back away?"_

She felt a little disappointed all of a sudden. She hoped it wasn't **her** problem that he seemed to want to avoid even the most basic physical interaction… She cleared her throat.

"Yes." She ventured to answer.

"…With me still in it?"

"Well, what? Do you want to sleep in the shower, or something?" She snapped back, her temper rising a little due to her frustration. God, how dense can he be?

"N-No! I mean… I could sleep perfectly on the floor, if you want me to." He mentally kicked himself for even suggesting that. Idiot.

"I think the bed's large enough for the two of us," she shamelessly lied; those weren't exactly single beds, but they weren't quite made for two people to sleep in and still manage some space in between. They'd have to stay close to each other – exactly what both of them wanted, but wouldn't admit. "No need for you to sleep on the floor, it's not very comfortable I'll bet."

"Fine." Was all he could say. The sheer thought of sharing a bed with his blonde, curvaceous mechanic made his palms sweaty, and he was painfully reminded of the bulge that still crept beneath his (recently quickly pulled on) boxers.

"Okay, so… I just need to brush and… stuff."

She made her way somewhat gingerly to the bathroom with her hygiene utensils in hand. And after she properly brushed her teeth, cleaned her face and washed herself up, she noticed something. She didn't have any pajamas with her!

Stupid… or rather, stupid_**ly**_ convenient.

In the meantime Edward was trying to think of anything but what had just happened to him and what was **about** to happen. He needed to get his playful appendage _down_ as soon as possible, both to avoid horrid complications with Winry and to soothe the aching pain it had become as a result for being stiff for so long.

So he thought about several things. Like camel dump, or disemboweling a fish, or what's the color of the boxers Mustang's wearing right now. **If **he's wearing any…

Ew. Okay, that seems to have worked.

Right on time, actually, because the door of the small bathroom creaked open to reveal a rather sheepish-looking Winry.

"What is it?" He asked, in a (hopefully) casual tone.

"I don't have any pajamas. Do you have anything I can wear?"

He didn't even think before replying, "What? You're a girl. A _girl_, Winry, you're _supposed_ to carry around a bunch of clothing articles!"

"Well, Edward, we were in a hurry when we left the train and I forgot to bring my pajamas. And the rest of my stuff is completely soaked, I can't wear it!"

"So?"

"So! I'm asking you something, why can't you answer properly…? Do-you-have-anything-I-can-wear?" She repeated out slowly, as if talking to an old, senile man.

"… No." He flatly replied. "I have one pair of **dry** boxers – on me – and a pair of **soaked** boxers. I have one **dry** sweatshirt – on me – and one **wet** one over there." – he pointed at a lump of soggy clothes hanging on the back of a chair.

"Great," she deadpanned. "Thanks."

She closed the bathroom door again, visibly annoyed. And after about a split second Edward mentally roundhouse-kicked himself; he'd **love** to have her wear one of his t-shirts tonight. Boy oh boy, wouldn't that be nice? But no… Now she's gonna have to sleep in her jeans and thick wool sweatshirt.

Damn it.

Of course, Winry was considering other options. And Ed was ever so surprised when she casually walked out the bathroom with a white bathrobe on.

And it was a little _short_ – it was large, but half her thighs were just perfectly exposed. Though he could see the collar of some orange-colored article underneath.

"What's that?"

She noticed he couldn't help his eyes from popping a little as she walked past him with her clothes folded in her arms. Much less when she (purposefully) put down said clothes, folded, on the chair – her black bra sitting neatly at the top.

"It's a bathrobe. Why, did you think it was a duck or something?"

She did try to sound like that whole situation wasn't awkward at all, but it wasn't exactly an easy accomplishment. She had to stop the little tremors that made her walk in a funny way, and made her hand and arm movements a little less fluid than they ought to be. It was like her body was becoming slightly stiff, overtaken by anxiety.

"Tsk. Turn off the lights and let me rest," he spat out. Rather stupidly, he added to himself, for he had no clue on why he was being so brisk. It was just a stupid way of dealing with the situation – he didn't want to show that he cared much about the fact that she was wearing such a suggestive item **and** was crawling into bed with him.

Quick. Remember when that camel spat on your face, Edward!

But that didn't fool her. Or, at least, she was more than willing to test her little "theory". If she herself was so nervous about this, then it had to mean he was too. He had to be; and he _had_ to be dying for her to just get in there and… and what?

It didn't matter. All she knew was that her minty lips were dry and she desperately wanted him to do something about that.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to keep you up." She flicked the lights off and then tried to find the bed without tripping anywhere.

Finally, she curled under the sheets and next to him. He was lying right there, with his back turned to her, unmoving. She didn't want to get _too_ close, but at the same time she did…

"Goodnight, Ed."

She waited for his reply, but nothing came. He couldn't be asleep already, could he?

"Goodnight…?" She insisted.

A couple of minutes passed, and she was beginning to feel slightly disappointed (and somewhat sleepy). Then he cleared his throat. And he asked, in a whisper, "C- Can I hold you?"

"What?" She whispered back, unsure if she'd heard him correctly or if she was just dreaming about it. She waited tensely for his reply.

"Like this."

And then all of a sudden, her small frame was entirely enveloped by his torso. Not only did he drape his arms around her, but he also pulled her tightly against his chest.

It took her a while to realize where she was, or what was that musk she smelled, or who that warm breath on her skin belonged to. But as soon as she did, she didn't hesitate and, instinctively, placed her hands on his waist and crawled even closer – if that had even been possible.

And even though she was lying on a bed, she felt her legs turn into jelly and her heart pick up an even quicker pace; it was so loud she was sure he could hear it. And then, in that wordless reverie, she shifted slightly; in spite of the somewhat thick robe she sensed growing pressure right next to that dangerous spot in between her thighs.

She dug her face in his hot neck as she sighed deeply, shakily. That exact pressure on that spot had some very curious effects on her. But she wanted to feel it a little more; she wanted to be closer…

For a moment Ed thought she wanted to back away; he thought she'd had too much and wanted to leave it at that. He would not have minded, he would have understood; but instead, after only a few minutes of lying still she was already untying the bathrobe around her waist, so the front of her body was exposed.

In the faint moonlight that his eyes had become accustomed to, he could still somehow see that underneath the robe all she wore was her panties and a tight orange top; he noticed her perky breasts just loosely laying there, mere inches away from him, causing some point in his nether regions to throb violently.

And then she shifted back into that embrace with him; bodies pressed so tight together in a way that he would only dream of. There was not much fabric to meddle between the heat of their skins…

"Winry…" He wanted to ask her what exactly were they doing, but that would just be stupid. Instead, he ventured a kiss. Timid and fast at first, but soon enough they became as passionate as their hearts desired.

She was clearly enjoying the rubbing of his limb on her. So he thought… Why not be a little bolder?

"Oh God…" he muttered, praying that she would not kill him for this. He turned his body, and hers too, so that he was on top of her. With his hands he parted her legs.

"Ed, what are you…? Nnh!" She timidly tried to protest, but as he placed himself into a perfect fit with her shape a moan cut her off mid-sentence. Once again out of instinct, she arched her back and thrust her waist against his, increasing the burning pressure even more. He too was startled at her body's reaction. Tender as he was, he might just pop the lid at any given minute and he did not want to blow this up.

She had never felt so hot, so vibrating; it was like a fever had taken over her and every bit of her skin, or almost – she had a sudden desire to remove her top, the robe and his t-shirt and let the skin of her stomach and breasts warm up against his chest.

Would that be too much? She longed for it, yes, but somehow she was also afraid. Afraid of what they could lead themselves into, and afraid of her own desires. Anxiety seemed to take over her for a while – so she interrupted their kiss and fully covered her face with her hands.

"What… w-what's wrong? You okay? You wanna stop?" Ed asked, alarmed.

She spread her fingers a little so she could take a good look at his face. The look of worry he carried was sweet, she thought. But his stare also made her uncomfortably embarrassed, so she shut her fingers tight again.

He thought that was a cue for him to drop off her, so he did, feeling slightly undone.

"No!" she gasped, hands flying towards his arms. She gripped them tight, but still couldn't stare into his eyes.

"But I thought…I don't get it." He needed an explanation, pronto.

"I'm sorry. I'm just…thinking. Ohhh," she groaned, turning her back on him. "I shouldn't be thinking at all at a moment like this, should I?"

He didn't quite know what to say. Sure, he **did** think they could both do the thinking later, but he couldn't blame her for it. They'd never really been quite this close.

"You know what I think?" He ventured whispering into her ear; apparently women **love** that. "I'm your childhood friend. So you can talk to me. Plus, if we both **want** this, then…that just means we… we're…"

Of course he loved her. He was sure of it, he'd admitted it to himself a long time ago. After all, he wanted to start a family with her, eventually. But it was still something he had a hard time saying. He had tried and failed every time, so tonight it wasn't going to happen either.

She waited for him to complete his sentence but he never did. Instead, she felt a hand slowly snake from her knee, up her thigh, over her underwear and up to her stomach. He felt the goosebumps that covered every inch of her skin as his fingers trailed upon it, as if her body was telling him in Braille, "Keep going!"

The tingling between her thighs intensified, especially when he started kissing her neck. She completely went overboard with that and – to both their surprise – what had started a sigh at the bottom of her throat had escalated, and by the time it escaped her lips it was a full-out moan.

She heard him chuckle, somewhat nervously, and hated herself for handing out such an obvious sign of her ecstasy. She was still terribly self-conscious though. This was such an intimate matter that she couldn't avoid thinking about how embarrassing it was.

"You're tense," he said, kissing her jaw line, then her chin, "and I really want you to… relax…" Her previous moan encouraged him to try something daring. He was only slightly aware of what the womanhood was like, having read about it in books and seen pictures in occasion. He had some guidelines, from the book Al sent him, which he mechanically played in his head. Find the vulva. Press gently on the center of the lips with the middle finger and around them with the index and ring finger. Meet the… clitoris? Yeah, that. Tiny pea-like bulb.

Okay, deep breath and…

Damn it. Harder to do it than he thought. Maybe it was the panties, no matter how moist they were. The fabric didn't really allow for good sensi-

"Whoah! _**ED!**_" she squeaked automatically. She didn't know **what** to do so she swatted him off of her.

"What the _hell_?" she huffed as she tried to scramble away from him.

"Whu- wait! You're supposed to enjoy this!" He tried appeasing her.

"I'm **supposed** to? Just… what… who?"

He seemed to understand where her thought was heading for. "I've **never** done this before! I'm sorry! I just thought you'd like-"

"And how exactly did you come upon **that** knowledge?"

He stammered and he blushed. He tried to explain, but couldn't. It was just **embarrassing** to tell her that he'd read a book about intercourse.

"Ah… I mean… G-guys like it! So girls will… like it… too?" he ventured.

An awkward moment of silence fell between them. Very awkward. In fact, she felt so embarrassed at Ed's attempt of addressing masturbation, that she just flew right under the covers.

Oh, great. Now why was she hiding? The book said women usually loved… _that_. Maybe he'd done it wrong? Might as well play stupid.

"Winry, I'm sorry. I just thought that… I didn't mean… Please, tell me I didn't hurt you or anything. I just assumed girls would enjoy – you know – I mean, us guys do. I mean – uh." Great. He felt like he was just making this even more awkward.

She didn't know what to say. It startled her, his hand under _there_, pressing on her. She reacted automatically, even before registering that it had, indeed, felt quite good.

"Sorry." She stood up, and walked towards the bathroom, robe wrapped again around her. He watched, enticed and frustrated, letting his gaze rest on her thighs. He wished he could just push her legs apart and dive in. If only she'd let him. Then she vanished into the bathroom…

She dropped the robe on the bathroom floor, to get rid of the smothering warmth. She splashed some cold water on her face. Her legs were shaking, and her skin felt like it was boiling, so she splashed some more water on her thighs, on her arms, on her neck.

She pulled her panties down and inspected them – as suspected, they were completely moist and sticky. Surprising even herself, she touched that sensitive spot – at first just to "check on it" (which was silly, since the evidence was already displayed on the small piece of fabric), but then… Then her mind automatically wandered into that moment when Ed reached down.

She could feel her insides stir and tighten, as she imagined her own hand to be his, as she'd done before. But wait. _Before…_ Hadn't she always wished for him to be in bed with her, when she gave away to her reveries? Now she _actually_ had that chance, and stupidly cowered away. Why? It made no sense. None at all. And with her age and all the sexual tension bottled up in her, she was absolutely sure he longed for **it** as much as she did.

It was just too good a feeling not to be shared. Besides – he was right. They _were_ old friends, technically, so they knew each other; she could trust him, as he always trusted her to help him. Hadn't he already asked her to be his, and his alone? Promising he'd be the man for no other woman but her. Or, at least, that was implied in his proposal.

So, she knew. She would trust him. He was the only man she ever wanted to be with, the only one she dreamt about, the one man to where her most intimate thoughts went rushing to. She was his.

And with her mind set, she put the robe back on once again. Her hand on the doorknob still shook a little as she turned it; but after one long, deep breath and exhale, despite her heart's violent pounds, she stepped firmly outside.

Well, she was glad she'd shaved properly. Wax, you're a life-saver.

He watched begrudgingly, and rather angry at himself, as she picked up her clothes from the chair and disappeared into the bathroom again.

"_Great, now I've scared her into wearing all her clothes to bed. Way to go, idiot._"

So he didn't even turn when he felt her walking about the room again, opening her bag and return to bed. Of course he wanted to apologize for his idiocy, and he was going to. But before he had the chance she poked him on the shoulder and asked him to turn around. Fully clothed, as he'd thought she would be. Obviously.

"Hold these," she said, handing him the matchbox she'd kept inside her bag.

Then she got up and completely closed the curtains; the room was dipped in complete darkness. He heard her move about.

"What are you doing? Hey?" He sat up and squinted, but it was too dark. He lit up a match after he heard her giggle. She walked over in her sweater and jeans, bent over and, with a smile, put out the match with her breath.

He groaned. Hesitantly, he lit up another match. Her sweater was now gone, instead she wore her orange top – which glowed darkly under the dim light of the match. Setting her ruffled hair straight, she put the match out again. Ed had stupidly put down the matchbox, so he cursed himself profoundly as he looked for it so he could light yet another match, provoked by the sound of her rustling clothes.

When he finally did, her jeans were gone. He let out a small sound, indistinct and choked. He'd never actually seen her as exposed before. Again, the little flame on the match was blown into nonexistence, despite his attempt to protest.

Nervously he fidgeted for yet another one, which broke. She could hear him curse his trembling fingers, giggling again in response. That match also broke, so he growled with irritation. After he finally managed to light up the fourth match, her underwear was finally exposed. Black, and slightly laced, both her bra and panties. He felt the sudden urge to gnaw them off with his teeth and chew them. Huh.

His excessive breathing put that match out. "Damn it! This is torture!"

He felt her sitting on the bed, crawling up next to him. Another match, quickly!

He'd never seen her breasts before. He was simply, utterly entranced by the absolutely glorious sight of them. Those delicious breasts were responsible for his first wet dream. He remembered noticing that Winry had started to grow these lumps on her chest, but never gave them much thought.

Until, of course, this one time, one particularly hot summer, when he and Al had dropped by for Ed's maintenance. Ed couldn't sleep well so he dragged himself downstairs in the middle of the night, hoping for some orange juice leftovers from dinner. Instead, he found Winry raiding the fridge, looking for the same orange juice. She only had a semi-transparent night gown on, which was – he had a hard time admitting to himself – rather cute. She'd usually just sleep in some random tee. He could tell there was something opaque underneath it, around her waist, but when his eyes travelled upwards he noticed the dark circles of her nipples, which had perked up due to the coolness from the refrigerator. She was so sleepy she didn't notice his heavy blush, nor how he avoided even looking at her much when she waggled around looking for another glass to share the juice with him – when she moved, her boobs bounced around underneath the fabric in a very hypnotic way.

He was lucky they were at the Rockbell house, because Al would definitely have suspected something if they'd been in the same room. Ed had even more trouble falling asleep than he'd had before, and when he woke up he was all sticky and gooey. Those had been some really uncomfortable two days.

"Ah!" he exclaimed in pain – the match had burned out, charring his fingers a little. He stuck them in his mouth to soothe the ache, and resented the darkness that had once again settled between the two of them.

He felt a little silly when she lit up a candle that was set on the bed-side table. How'd he fail to notice it before?

And there she was, only three small garments standing between him and the long-awaited venting of all his sexual, and amorous, frustrations. The blushes spread across their cheeks completely matched in intensity, the same sheepish look of curiosity, mixed with panic, mixed with shyness, mixed with awkwardness and yearning. A great deal of yearning, actually – and that yearning mixed with curiosity makes for a killer blend which tops all other doubtful feelings, pulling at their sense of adventure.

She never thought herself capable of such an endeavor, and apparently neither did he. Also, she didn't expect him to play along automatically like that – she was so used to some kind of resistance on his behalf, even when she wasn't really "hitting" on him. Edward too was surprised at himself, at the whole situation. Not two years ago, this wouldn't have been possible.

But, now, it seemed like all of the universe was conspiring towards one result: their union, their head-straight fall into pleasure in each other's arms. Their bodies and passions had at last taken control, two unmoving forces of nature fated to meet, to collide, and to explode into an unexplored new reality full of sensuality, newfound thrills, broken barriers.

She let her riveted gaze flow softly, unwillingly, through the tense, hard muscles of his shoulders, gliding down towards the center to admire his distinct collarbone, free-falling in the direction of his preeminent chest and abs, continuing down to where his skin disappeared under his bulging boxers. She couldn't help the new surge of tingling heat which ran through all of her body, as she stared at his defined pelvis – unable to suppress the want to feel it up, and have it press right between her legs as it had been a while ago, but without the terrible nuisance of clothes. She shuddered and felt her cheeks set on fire, resisting the urge to look away from embarrassment – she didn't want him to think she was getting cold feet.

He was now fully erect, every bit of his body vibrating with over-sensitivity. As if, in that short yet long distance, he could feel the heat radiating from her body; as if he could taste the sweetness emanating from her lips; as if he could feel the softness of her hair cascading over his skin as they united, and the scorching touch of her hand on him. He _imagined_ the hot, sweet, soft, **plump** form of her breasts molded inside his palms, or spicy and wet beneath his tongue. He wouldn't have to imagine for long, so it seemed.

"Now it's your turn," she purred, drawing slightly closer to him…

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~xx~

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**Whew! Done! Hope it's not too exaggerated. D:**

**Thank you for your time. So, er, opinions, anyone?** :)


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